New gourmet boba shop opens in SLO County. Take a look inside

A new boba shop is in town, with imported ingredients from Taiwan and local produce for hot and iced teas.

Bobar Gourmet Bubble Tea opened Monday in Paso Robles, serving over 21 teas and drinks in the “perfect spot” that previously housed Headhunters Barber Service.

Yet before co-owners Sharon and Marcus Link could open Bobar at 1220 Spring St., the husband-and-wife duo spent three years with boarded-up windows remodeling the space after originally signing the lease back in September 2023.

“Because this place was closed off for three years, tons of people were asking about this spot,” Sharon Link told The Tribune. “People might have thought that we just leased it like a year ago, and then did all this and opened, and it was empty for two years — but actually we were just in here waiting.”

Meanwhile, a lot was going on behind the scenes.

The Links spent the time waiting for permits to get passed remodeling their designs and practicing pouring drinks and making their ever-popular black tapioca pearls with imported ingredients from Taiwan and local produce from Sharon’s family farm.

“I was able to visit manufacturers that produce the tea and the raw ingredients to get the most authentic, best-tasting teas and toppings,” Sharon said. “We wanted it to be classic and authentic and go the slightly more healthy route.”

Bobar’s menu includes organic herbal teas like shiso and lemonbalm, fruit tea like passion fruit tea and osmanthus jasmine floral tea, sparkling refreshers like a sparkling orange grapefruit, strawberry lemonade or sparkling pineapple lemonade, classic milk teas and signature drinks like the taro ube fresh milk and matcha strawberry milk.

“Our menu is pretty signature,” Sharon said. “There’s a lot of shops where you choose the tea, you choose a topping, you put your own tea together, but for us, we wanted to make it as simple as possible. Of course, if someone comes in and wants something a little different, they just have to let us know.”

The teas are served in large plastic cups with a sealed lid, with Bobar’s signature logo on the top and a Chinese proverb on the side that translates to “fly towards the sky,” Sharon said.

The motto reminds the Links that even after three years of the “waiting game” to finally open, Bobar is finally here.

“Don’t give up, just keep flying,” she said. “That’s kind of the idea.”

For more information

Bobar Gourmet Bubble Tea is open every day from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with hours subject to change.

For more information about the bubble tea shop, visit its Instagram at @bobarpaso.