Dinesh opened his own boba tea shop, TeaMai Boba, in September at 5 Hampson Street, situated between Navy Yard Liquors and Yvonne’s Cuts. Dracut Economic Development held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for TeaMai Boba on October 9.
Dinesh’s family, originally from Bhutan, were rehomed in a refugee camp in Nepal in 1992. Dinesh was born in 1995, and his family eventually emigrated to Lowell.
“We lived in a refugee camp, where you don’t have the freedom to own a company. I always had a dream,” he said.
He worked at Cumberland Farms in Chelmsford and as an electronics assembly technician to save money.
“I always wanted to start something on my own,” he said. “Then I saw that the boba tea industry was growing and this area really didn’t have much boba tea. So I thought I’d open a shop in Dracut for local convenience so people didn’t have to go out of town for boba tea.”
When it came time to name his shop, he decided to give a nod to the refugee camp where his family once lived, called Timai, simply changing the first two letters to reflect the nature of his business.
Dinesh, 29, lives in Dracut with his wife, Manisha Rai, and their 3-year-old son, Royce.
He said his family supports him in his business endeavor. In fact, he works side by side behind the counter of TeaMai Boba with his father, Jit Magar.
In addition to fruit teas and milk teas, TeaMai has smoothies and slushes, as well as toppings and “poppings.” They also sell vegetable or chicken dumplings (“a popular street food in Nepal,” Dinesh said) as well as strawberry mini-pancakes. And, if you were a fan of the Sweet Chili Meatball Sandwich that the former 978 Café sold when it occupied the space, Dinesh has kept that on the menu.
TeaMai Boba is open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m., and Sunday, noon-5 p.m.
CAPTIONS
1: Dinesh Magar cuts the ribbon at TeaMai Boba’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, hosted by Dracut Economic Development on October 9. Celebrating the occasion are, from left, Tim Savage, member of the Economic Development Committee; Dinesh’s wife, Manisha Rai; Dinesh’s father, Jit Magar; and Jennifer Kopcinski and Alison Genest, members of the Board of Selectmen and the Economic Development Committee.
2: TeaMai Boba sells vegetable and chicken dumplings, which owner Dinesh Magar said is “a popular street food” in Nepal.
3: Owner Dinesh Magar makes a tea drink at TeaMai Boba, 5 Hampson Street, Dracut.