A bubble tea franchise known around the world is setting up shop to Guelph.
The Alley will soon open its doors at 92 Gordon St., in the former Subway location at the Wellington Plaza.
The franchise started in Taiwan, and has since grown to multiple locations across Asia, the United States and Canada.
Chunseng Tang, one of four partners involved in the Guelph location, said patrons can expect a focus on tea, with different ones imported from Taiwan.
There are cold brews and warm brews offered, with ingredients such as tea leaves, freshly prepared tapioca – or deerioca – and sugar cane syrup made in-house.
"We went and travelled quite a lot, and we saw a lot of bubble teas, different franchises," said Sophal Morb, another partner.
"We went to the one in Waterloo, we tried it and it (came out) very good, and one of the best bubble tea shops that they have right now. We (were) just thinking 'let's see what we can do to bring it to Guelph,' and somehow we got contact back from the franchisee, and they were interested too."
He said it took almost a year, from finalizing paperwork and finding a location.
Morb said the location is great, near Downtown Guelph and near the university.
"(We see there is) a lot of improvement here for the last couple years," he said, also pointing out the proximity to the river, trails, parks and The Boathouse.
Morb said it will open "as soon as possible," but no date has been set.
The inside looks complete, though Morb points out they are still waiting for equipment to arrive.
Tang said they are looking for workers – called artisans and maestros – and are looking to fill both summer student positions and full-time jobs.
He said over 50 people have already applied.
Applications can be filled out on The Alley website.
