57 Park Street Reopens for the Season in Adams
ADAMS, Mass. — A boba tea and gift shop has reopened on Park Street for the summer season.
57 Park Street is a place where you can get souvenir Berkshire County and Adams items along with boba tea and other drinks, and the owner suggested she may have been one of the first to bring boba to North County.
"It's very new in Berkshires, in Southern Berkshire, there used to be a lot of shops. I think I'm one of the first ones that brought it here three years ago," said Lea King.
King moved to Berkshire County a seven years ago, first renovating and reopening the historic Wigwam in North Adams with her partner, Wayne Gelinas, and then the gift shop in Adams. She saw the boba shop as a way to bring some of her culture to the community.
"It's wishing to share my culture with my new home because this is a new home base for me. I came to the Berkshires in 2018 so this is my new home, and also this is where I chose to retire. So with sharing the boba the idea of the boba tea," King said, who sold the Wigwam last year.
She wanted to introduce people boba tea and educate them on what it is when she opened two years ago.
"I opened the shop in March of 2023, with my partner, Wayne, and our intention is to bring people a lot of joy, to bring people new flavors, new treats, and most importantly, to share a little bit of my culture, because I think I can do a lot more for the community by doing this than, you know, working in a retail shop or something else," she said.
King says boba originated in Taiwan and is a sweet treat.
"I am Taiwanese by origin, and boba originated in Taiwan as a sweet milk tea, so it's a great treat. We call it the treat, the beverage that's fun to eat because you have a tea that has treats in there," she said, referring to the tapioca pearls used in boba or bubble tea. "When you slurp it up with a big straw, you get both the beverage and a little treat in one bite. And it's very popular in metropolitan areas."
One of the most popular drinks at the store is the strawberry milk tea with strawberry popping bobas.
"Strawberry on strawberry is the most popular milk tea. It looks really beautiful, and it tastes great when you combine the strawberry popping boba with the strawberry milk tea, slurp it up in one of these big straws, nothing compares to the intense flavor of strawberry," she said. "On a hot day, you have a soft, milky drink that's sweet, but not too sweet, and then you have that pop in your mouth. So I would say it's super fun, and kids love it. Adults actually like it. And sometimes, some of them don't want to admit it, but they come back again and again."
King says she likes to help people with their drink choice and preferences, even customizing a person's drink if it's not on the menu. She loves to see people happy with their drink especially when it's their first time trying it.
"Based on their liking, I'll recommend something. My biggest reward is when they take the first sip and they go, 'oh, oh, I wasn't expecting something to come up.' But then they pause and go, 'I like it. I've never had this.' You know, when I first opened, I had 70- 80-year-old ladies who said that they've never had these drinks, and then they like it," she said.
King says she isn't doing this shop for the money but more like something she can do and have fun with in her retirement and make people happy with having something to enjoy.
"It’s not about making money. I'm retired with or without the boba shop, you know, I am active, and it really isn't about making tea to make profit from making the tea," she said.
King says she also wants to help revitalize downtown Adams.
"I feel that I could contribute a lot better to the community as a community member, particularly as it relates to downtown revitalization, I really believe downtown Adams needs a lot more foot traffic," she said. "You know, I love to have the diner next door. I love having Daily Grind. There's another coffee shop down the street. Chee's is on the other end. The theater is opening up. I really feel having a place where people can go in and buy an Adams souvenir."
The shop sells shirts, hats, magnets and more. She also helps showcase local artists' work for sale.
The store is open on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. She will be open from now through December for the Christmas season.
Tags: gift shop,
