Newly opened San Jose boba shop serves drinks with viral Labubu doll

(KRON) — Northern California-based boba shop, Rose Tea Lounge, opened its first San Jose location last week.

Rose Tea Lounge held its soft opening at 1210 Story Road on June 21. However, despite being new at the Little Saigon Plaza II shopping center, the boba tea shop has already drawn lines out the door.

That’s likely because Rose Tea Lounge has hopped on the craze of the viral Labubu doll. The business announced on social media that it would be serving edible Labubu jelly toppings to complement its drinks for a limited time.

As of now, Rose Tea Lounge says it is still under a soft opening. Hours for the San Jose location are from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Those hours are extended for a 10 p.m. closing time on Friday and Saturday.

The Labubu doll, which first became popular in Asia, has taken the world by storm in the past couple of months. They are available at Asian toy store Pop Mart. The dolls sell out fast from Pop Mart, and some dolls are being sold for hundreds and thousands of dollars on eBay.

Celebrities — like Simone Biles, Rihanna and Blackpink members — have been seen with a Labubu doll dangling from their purses.

Rose Tea Lounge opened its first location in Elk Grove back in 2020, according to its Instagram page. There are now shops in Fremont and Cupertino to complement other locations in Stockton and Sacramento. The boba shop has amassed a following of more than 16,000 on Instagram.