Pham’s Coffee & Boba holds soft opening

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - A new coffee and Boba shop held a friends-and-family soft opening in Grand Island on Saturday. Co-owner Tuan Pham said they wanted to celebrate opening their business with those close to them.

Pham and his fiancé Alyssa Van Arnam acquired their shop when they purchased their home next door. Pham said he always wanted to own a boba shop since he was a kid, and throughout the years he also developed an interest in coffee.

The shop is located in Grand Island at 614 North Eddy Street. They selected that location because there’s a lot of diversity. He said the area offers people a little bit of everything, and the goal is to bring something new to the community.

“There’s actually a really large population of, like, of Asian immigrants in Grand Island and I really feel like they’re really underrepresented, and Vietnamese coffee just learning about their culture and stuff is something that’s really prominent in their culture,” Alyssa said. “Just the way that it’s made, the tradition behind it.”

Van Arnam said she’s looking forward to sharing what she learned about Vietnamese culture. Pham said they have a unique taste, and in Vietnamese culture coffee is made with condensed milk. He wants people to get a true Vietnamese experience in every cup of coffee.

Although bring something new should attract customers, the type of people thy are is something that will keep people coming back for more.

“I know Tuan long time ago. He’s a great person, very good man, he’s been hard worker,” said Donado Medina Martinez, event attendee. “I’m proud that he opened this coffee shop and I think it’s going to be successful.”

Friends and family at the event said that the couple is not only hard working, but caring.

“They’re the most down to Earth people I ever met,” said Brandi Tobler. “Very open and giving. They’re there to help when you need them. Even when you don’t need them they notice things about you, if you’re upset or something’s going on. They pick up on your demeanor, they’re just very relatable people.”

Tobler said the couple is a joy to be around and Tuan always has a smile on his face. A new business from local people is what downtown Grand Island thrives on.

“I always think it’s great to support local small business owners,” said Matthew Marsh-Bochart, event attendee. “Everybody’s just out here you know trying to do what they love and looks like they’ve, kinda fixed up a building and started a small business, so always love to support local.”

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