Smoochies Boba and Crepes opens new location on Hamilton’s Main Street
Sometimes, you want a snack or a treat but don’t want to eat an entire meal. Smoochies, a new store in Hamilton, offers a unique twist on the perfect summertime treat.
They offer drinks that include boba, or small chewy spheres that are made of cassava or tapioca. While the traditional pearls aren’t highly flavored, just slightly sweet, they add a fun element to the drink.
“Boba is a tapioca pearl made out of the cassava plant, which is the cousin of potato,” explains Nadja Mirpuri, owner of Smoochies Boba and Crepes. “It’s a little bit sweet but mostly has a chewy, gummy texture, though softer than a gummy candy. It makes your drink last longer.”
Boba tea or Bubble tea became very popular in many large cities in the past few decades, and a new trend is to add “popping boba” to drinks, which is an option at Smoochies.
“The popping boba is a sphere full of fruit juice, which you can pop to release the fruit flavor,” says Mirpuri.
Managing owner Nadja Mirpuri took a long journey to get to this point in her business career. She was living in the Phillippines when she first thought to create a snack shop with boba and crepes, but the market wasn’t right for that business. Then she got the opportunity to move to the United States, and saw a chance to start here.
After the Liberty Center kiosk took off, Mirpuri followed her dreams, literally, and found that Hamilton was the right place for her second location.
“I dreamed of a particular chimney, and I thought maybe I’d see it some day,” says Mirpuri. “When I was in Hamilton, I saw the old Champion Mill and recognized the chimney from my dream. There was something pulling me to Hamilton, and I said, ‘there you are!’”
The Main Street location, near Petals and Wicks and Fretboard Brewing, is quite central. It was a former laundromat, so Mirpuri got started making the renovations needed for the Boba and Crepes store. It took nearly a year, but they launched in July, a perfect hot time for cool drinks.
While the pandemic has been a difficult time for business, Mirpuri is heartened that the hot weather has brought people out for a refreshing milk tea and a light and tasty crepe.
“I recommend the 57 tea, named because you will want to come back 56 times when you have one,” says Mirpuri. “A new crepe is the crema de fruta, which has tres leches cake and strawberry, mango, and blueberry in it. Our brown sugar milk and brown sugar tea are also very good.”
The savory crepes vary from one filled with pizza toppings to unique options like the chorizo based on traditional recipes from the Phillippines. Mirpuri is always experimenting and finding new combinations to add to the menu.
She acknowledges the many steps it takes to bring a business into the world, and has encouragement for others who are trying it.
“I hope that other business owners in Hamilton work to not be discouraged. I never gave up, and the shirts from the first location read, ‘Dream Big’ on them,” she says. “For the second store, we added shirts that say “Keep on Dreaming,” because with all that is happening, we want people to keep on dreaming.”
Visit Smoochies Boba and Crepes at 113 Main Street in Hamilton. Their latest hours and offerings are available on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/smoochiesbobacrepes/