Hurrah for Nara

Shawn Lo • June 11, 2025

For years, boba lovers at the Peninsula Center had just two go-to spots: Mochinut and Boba Time, but now there is a new shop in town. Nara, which means happiness in Arabic, was created with a mission to share the joy of bubble tea with everyone who walks through its doors. The owner, June Poling, started Nara to create a unique space where students could unwind over a tasty drink in a vibrant environment. But, like every small business, Nara’s journey was not without its challenges.

Before Nara could open, the team behind the brand had to go through a meticulous process of designing and organizing what the menu and store layout would look like. After the pandemic, Poling struggled to find contractors, especially since consumers were only just starting to return to in person shopping. Even after being able to secure a site, Poling still needed to obtain a sales license, train workers and create recipes for the boba shop to come into fruition. Nevertheless, Poling’s business succeeded in its first pre-opening and has attracted customers from across the hill. The store interior has a modern design that uses a light shade of green to symbolize the organic and natural essence of Nara’s taste, and the plentiful seating allows for a social environment. Ann Nguyen, the manager of Nara, explained that the store’s logo, inscribed in circular wood panels, represents the fusion of bubble tea culture with a modern vision.

“Everyone knows bubble tea,” Nguyen said. “It's popular and it [brings people together]. We wanted our [design] to reflect [that same energy]. Our design reflects the core values of our mission—freshness, relaxation, and an enjoyable experience with every drink.”

Though the store’s atmosphere is appealing on its own, Nara’s strength in attracting customers is its bountiful menu. Among the variety of drinks, the Four Seasons Mango and the Peach tea with foam stand out as the most refreshing fruit teas that the Peninsula Center has to offer. In contrast, other chains like Boba Time, which have a more artificial tasting flavor because of its excessive use of syrup, Nara’s menu has a more natural taste and uses actual fruit. It's also worth noting that Nara specializes in both fruit teas, and matchas, with the store releasing its Coconut Clear Matcha and its Strawberry Matcha lattes. Junior Josh Hwang, a Peninsula student who works at Nara, describes how the menu has many intricate flavors.

“I would say Nara’s Favorite is [definitely] the most difficult drink to make,” Hwang said. “[It] is one of our most popular drinks but [it is] one of the most complicated ones [because it combines] our traditional matcha latte with [a layer of] blueberry jam at the bottom and toppings like [crystal or traditional boba].

In the short period of time that Nara has been open, the store has already cemented itself as a unique addition to the Peninsula Center. Despite the store's initial challenges, the team at Nara successfully created a vibrant business with a diverse menu of modern and traditional drinks. Although the store is only in its pre-opening phase, meaning that the menu is still developing, Nara has attracted many students at Peninsula who look forward to what it has to offer in the future. Junior Jordan Sligh, a regular customer, believes that the Nara has the potential to grow into an even more popular business.

“I love matcha in general, but Nara has a specifically rich taste that makes it stand out from the rest,” Sligh said “I also [love] their delicious ube cookies sold at the register. In the future, I would be excited for Nara to have more space for studying and possibly have a [larger variety] of hot drinks on their menu.”