Beverage News

Bubble tea shop Chatime from Taiwan opens at convenient Dallas address

Chatime drinks

Photo courtesy of Chatime

A bubble tea shop from Taiwan has debuted in Dallas: Chatime, a global bubble tea chain specializing in modern bubble tea beverages, has opened a teahouse in a very convenient centrally-located spot in the Medallion Center shopping center at 6464 E. Northwest Hwy. # 316, next to Salata and near the Target store.

Chatime was founded in Taiwan in 2005 and has helped bring bubble tea to the global stage. According to a release, they began franchising in 2006 and currently have more than 1,400 locations worldwide across Asia, Australia, Canada, and the U.S. There are now locations in Baltimore, Nashville, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Missouri, Ohio, New York, Florida, Georgia, and Kansas.

Dallas represents the third location in Texas, following Frisco at 11955 Coit Rd. which opened in 2024, and another in the Houston area, which opened in 2025.

Their success draws on decades of tea expertise with an emphasis on real ingredients, bold flavors, and contemporary tea culture. Their menu centers on customizable premium boba tea including milk tea, fruit tea, smoothies, and brown sugar pearls.

Signature drinks include:

boba tea
brown sugar boba milk (no tea)
peach green tea with strawberry popping pearls
lychee green tea with lychee jelly
mango slush with mousse
Thai with boba
taro milk tea with mousse

They also have cold brew coffee and energy drinks. You can order drinks in three sizes, ranging from 16 to 32 ounces, and you can also specify level of sweetness. Prices range from $6 to $9.

The Dallas location, part of a wave of openings for the chain in 2026, is a family operation owned by Dallas husband-and-wife duo Sanket and Ekta Gulati, two professionals who are opening their first franchise, with their sons running the day-to-day.

"Chatime felt like the right opportunity for us because it offered a strong global brand with real recognition, even though it is still growing in the United States," the couple says. "What makes it even more meaningful is that our younger son is managing the store and has become a key part of the operation, while our older one proudly calls himself the HR guy, leading the hiring and onboarding efforts. It has truly become a family affair."

On May 30-31, the store is hosting a two-day opening celebration, wherein the first 50 guests each day will receive a free 16-oz Premium Boba Milk Tea, presented in a limited‑edition Charm the World Cup. Each cup comes with a mystery plushie, adding a collectible that reflects Chatime's global fan culture. They'll also be doing a Buy‑One‑Get‑One promotion on certain flavors, on both days, all day.

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Hummus News

New Mediterranean restaurant in McKinney spotlights Greek and Lebanese

Ilio's

Chicken shawarma plate at Ilio's Greek & Lebanese

A new Mediterranean restaurant starring two cuisines has debuted in McKinney: Called Ilio’s Greek & Lebanese Restaurant, it's now open at 210 N. Custer Rd. #130, with a collection of Middle Eastern favorites like gyros, shawarma, kebabs, hummus, falafel, and pita wraps.

The restaurant, which opened in mid-May in a center on the newer west side of McKinney, is from a pair of restauraunt veterans, Anas Abu-Ziad, nicknamed "Ziad," and Talal Hammad, who owned a similarly-themed and similarly-named concept in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Managing the front of the house is Ziad's affable wife Jessica Gardener, whose doting customer service has quickly made her a diner favorite.

"The idea with combining Greek and Lebanese was to make the restaurant inviting to everyone," Gardener says.

Baton Rouge has a reputation for good Greek and Lebanese food, even boasting a few restaurants that feature "Greek & Lebanese" as part of their name. Those two cuisines are slightly less common in Dallas, where the Middle-Eastern restaurant scene has been dominated mostly by Turkish and Syrian places.

Ilio's, which was the ancient Greek name for the city of Troy and is a popular moniker for Greek restaurants across the U.S., specializes in sizzling grilled kebobs, which are available in chicken, beef, shrimp, and kafta, the Lebanese favorite consisting of ground meat — often a combination of beef and lamb, with spices, onions, and herbs — molded into a long cylinder.

Greek dishes include dolmas (stuffed grape leaves with rice), spinach pie, and lamb shank — all dishes that can appear on many Middle Eastern menus but are most closely allied with Greek cuisine. That includes moussaka, the homey casserole dish made with eggplant, meat sauce, and bechamel — although Ilio's version is deconstructed, which is easier for restaurants to execute than the traditional layered version favored by home cooks.

Hummus comes in three options: traditional, Mediterranean, and Sultan, topped with chunks of meat. Other Mediterranean classic dishes include chicken shawarma, gyro plates, falafel, and fried halloumi cheese.

Most dishes come in under $15 and the restaurant is also BYOB.

There are extra-healthy dishes including salads, lentil soup, and pita wraps, made with pita that's a little softer and less doughy than many pitas in town. And there's also a fusion twist that's very Texas: a "Greek quesadilla" with your choice of grilled meat stacked between pita bread.

greek cuisine lebanese cuisine mckinney mediterranean restaurant middle eastern favorites openings

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