This post was updated May 16 at 12:02 p.m.
Milksha, a Taiwanese bubble tea chain, opened a new location in Westwood on May 7.
Milksha’s grand opening event, which began at 11 a.m., featured discounted prices, free merchandise and a DJ. The line to enter the event snaked around the corner of Broxton Avenue and Weyburn Avenue, ending outside Brandy Melville.
[Related: Restaurant review: Milksha fails to hit the mark, is saved by its quality, in-store experience]
Milksha, which manages more than 300 stores worldwide, began expanding into California, New York and Texas after Jollibee Foods Corporation secured licensing rights to open Milksha stores in September 2024.
Derek Serna, a fourth-year biochemistry student who attended the event, said the organizers succeeded in creating an event that built excitement about Milksha’s opening.
Serna added that he hopes to return to Milksha to order more drinks, adding that he preferred its matcha to other stores and other matcha drinks sold in Westwood.
Milksha uses fresh milk instead of powdered creamers, and its ingredients are sourced from farms, said Young Lee, Milksha’s chief product officer and director of international business.
“Milksha cares about quality,” Lee said.
Edmond Wang, a fourth-year computer science student, said he enjoyed Milksha’s promotion efforts, including its free merchandise. Wang added that he believes the event will give Milksha a wider reach than some other Westwood tea shops that are less publicized.
“It’s nice to see Westwood shake it up a little bit,” Wang said. “I’ve been here four years, I’ve seen bubble tea places come and go all the time.”
Lee said Milksha wants to connect with the culture of the areas its stores are located in. The Westwood location offers a blue-and gold-colored drink called the Campus Crush, he added.
Wang, who tried the Campus Crush – which is a cotton candy- and mango-flavored smoothie – said he preferred the milk-based drinks offered at the store.
Emma Wu, a third-year statistics and data science student, said she was invited to the opening to create social media content for Milksha. She added that she was excited by Milksha’s proximity to UCLA.
“It’s literally 10 minutes from UCLA,” Wu said. “It’s really easy for students to come here and try a new place that’s from Taiwan.”
Lee said he wants customers to enjoy activities like studying or hanging out with friends at Milksha. The store will remain open until midnight everyday, which will hopefully give students another late-night space to gather in Westwood, he added.
“I think Westwood is a really beautiful community,” Lee said. “We created a lot of very special drinks that’s only designed for U.S. and even for Westwood.”
Comments are closed.