HODGDON, Maine — When Randi Farrar closed her downtown Houlton tea and herb shop earlier this year, a few customers mentioned they missed getting her fresh brews.
So she got her kitchen certified, her well water tested, bought a 40-slot cup holder, a larger vehicle and started delivering her specialty boba iced teas to Houlton businesses and a few residential customers.
“It just went crazy,” Farrar said. And while she is not sure how word spread, she’s now delivering 100 or more iced teas in one day.
The demand has been so great Farrar decided to open a drive-thru business in nearby Hodgdon to serve teas and coffee.
Boba, or bubble tea, is a Taiwanese recipe that blends tea with milk, fruit and fruit juices and tapioca pearls. But Farrar uses popping pearls instead of tapioca in her boba teas because customers love those, she said.
“They are juice balls, and when you suck them up through the straw, they explode in your mouth,” she said.
Farrar is now putting the final pieces together for Randi’s Corner Perk on Corner Road in Hodgdon. The name is a twist on Central Perk, a famous fictional hangout from the sitcom “Friends,” she said.
The drive-thru will be open in fall, winter and spring. In addition to her boba and chaga teas, Farrar will offer coffee, cappuccinos and quick food items like muffins and hot egg sandwiches.
There will also be seating inside for about 20, she said, adding that she is waiting for the final occupancy number from the fire marshal.
On Wednesday, Farrar described what the drive-thru will look like when completed as she walked along what will be the tear-drop drive-thru path.
The building is an Amish-built structure that she and her husband, Tom Farrar, have painted in a vibrant near cobalt blue with white trim.
There are pieces of white picket fence ready to go along the drive, and she’s still working on how she will display the menu board outside to withstand Maine winters.
Birch Bark Brews, chaga tea blends that Farrar co-owns with Alyssa Hutchinson, will be available at Corner Perk as well as some of her other herbal items from her Lotus and Leaf business.
Randi’s Corner Perk is expected to be open by Thanksgiving, and it will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Farrar put the idea of the drive-thru on Facebook to see if it interested people.
“I got a huge response,” she said, adding that people don’t like to get out of their cars in the winter.
