By Helen Harlan
When Chico natives Cyndi and Frank Pereira opened Krak Boba Chico in East Avenue Marketplace in May, some of their close friends and family thought the couple was crazy.
“Sometimes, we still think we’re crazy,” Cyndi admitted.
Starting any new project is a big haul, and when the Pereiras chose to open a food and beverage franchise, they were already busy. In addition to raising two teenagers, they both have full-time jobs in the Chico educator community: Cyndi runs Thrive STEAM Enrichment, and Frank is a computer animation and game development professor at Chico State.
“My wife can’t sit still,” Frank mentioned as Cyndi chuckled at his side.
And yet, crazy or not, they plowed ahead. Krak Boba Chico celebrated its 6-month anniversary on Tuesday, and teens like Kendall Hetiz, a junior at Pleasant Valley High, are already converts. Heitz chose Krak over the local Starbucks for an after-school refresher because of its variety and the scene itself.
“They have more options here,” Heitz said as she sipped her favorite offering, Krak Boba’s Brown Sugar Milk Tea. “I just think that’s a really good atmosphere. Everyone’s really sweet, and the employees work really hard.”
Krak Boba Chico offers a variety of fresh smoothies, bubble tea and coffee. The parent company of the franchise is based in Southern California. The Pereira’s venture in Butte County is the brand’s flagship store in Northern California. Tin Do, Krak Boba’s Chief Executive/Empowerment/Empathy Officer, said Chico was a good fit for the brand for several reasons.
“Our brand intends to be inclusive and authentic, and the Chico partners Cyndi and Frank are testament to those values and highly-valued members of their community, so there was alignment there,” Do observed. “Also, the Chico State University is part of our core target, so we decided to be of service to this community.”
Cyndi said her family chose boba over a fast food chain because of the product’s youth in the market.
“We’re at the bottom of it here, the beginning of it, and I just think it’s gonna explode,” Cyndi predicted. “Thirty years from now, everybody’s going to be looking for the boba shop.”
Youth plays a huge part in the success of the Krak Boba Chico brand on both sides of the service counter. The Pereira’s kids, Joseph, 18, and Terceira, 15, work at the store while attending Core Butte full-time as high schoolers. The family intentionally chose to set up their store near Pleasant Valley High School because of its proximity to young people.
“We were looking for that location that really fit Chico and the teenagers and the college students,” Frank recalled. “They’re coming over for Redwood (Sandwich Co). They’re coming over for Celestino’s (NY Pizza and Pasta). They also have Halo Hawaiian BBQ and El Patron. There’s a lot of food around us, and that’s why we feel like providing drinks is a nice offset to everybody else. It’s something else to grab while grabbing food.”
When asked to name the most rewarding and challenging aspects of opening Krak Boba Chico, both Cyndi and Frank say it’s two sides of the same coin – staffing.
“I’m working with teenagers and young adults. And, yeah, they’re paid staff, but it still feels like, you know, I’m supporting them and helping them learn new things,” Cyndi explained.
However, it’s still a hurdle for Frank and Cyndi when it comes to deciding how many teenagers and young adults they need to have on the floor.
“We’re still trying to figure out that sweet spot of, ‘Is it going to be busy this day because of these events? Or is it going to be less busy?'” Frank acknowledged.
Half a year out, the Pereiras are excited about the future of their first franchise and ready for what comes next.
“We’re doing something that we’ve never done – I don’t think in my wildest dreams I was gonna go in this direction,” Frank reflected. “This isn’t a job, a business I would have chosen to do. Thrive has always been a little bit of my wife’s thing. This business, we’re both in it together, like we’re figuring it out together.”
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