NORTH MYRTLE BEACH — Cha House recently opened its first South Carolina franchise in North Myrtle Beach, just as the Asian-inspired tea and snack bar plans to grow farther outside of its Raleigh roots.
The Cha House opened in the Coastal North Town Center at 1516 U.S. 17 North in a 1,603-square-foot space near Publix that formerly housed Ella’s Ice Cream, which closed last September after opening in the northern Grand Strand shopping center in 2019.
Cha House was founded in the Tar Heel state in 2016 by Taiwan natives Ya Wen “Lulu” Adkisson and her sister Ya Huei “Julia” Chiu on a recommendation by Adkisson’s husband, after spending their childhood in their parent’s restaurant in the Xinyi District of Taipei.
The founders of the company said the Mandarin character for cha — or tea — comes together to form the shape of a home, hence the name.
Current locations are in Raleigh and nearby Cary. However, the company’s website says more shops are coming soon to North Carolina in Greenville and Wake Forest. They also plan to expand along the East Coast with stores in Miami and Washington, D.C.
Local franchise owner Heather Hyatt Zanfardino, a Dillon native who moved to North Myrtle Beach in 2003, said it has always been a goal to be a business owner after previously working in the dental industry.
Zanfardino said a love for coffee and food plus a tip from one of her business partners eight months ago resulted in her achieving her dream.
“My partner actually found the Cha House in Raleigh so at that point, he came back and was like, ‘We need to open one of these here because we don’t have one,’” said Zanfardino, who runs the day-day business of the franchise and can be found most days behind the counter. “He asked me if I wanted to be a partner. So, he, my dad and I are all in this together.”
As the first South Carolina franchise, Zanfardino gets first dibs on any future statewide expansion from the Cha House’s founders.
“Next we would like to be near Myrtle Beach, or even towards Mount Pleasant because there are a couple of boba shops there but I feel like ours is different than most,” she said. “Most of them are Vietnamese restaurants with boba options or boba shops with no food.”
The store’s menu is highlighted by numerous boba tea options — ingredients imported from selected farmers throughout Asia by the company’s owners — matcha teas, milk teas, specialty drinks, lattes, milkshakes and a snack bar featuring authentic foods from the streets of Taipei.
Many of the optional toppings for the drinks are made in-house, including milk and cheese foam, and mango and strawberry syrups.
A popular specialty drink is the Pink Lady, which features house-made limeade and strawberry puree and the most requested food item is the Thai Chili Chicken.
“Everything thing is from Lulu, the owner of the company,” Zanfardino said. “All of this is her family’s recipes from Taiwan.”
But as a Cha House franchise owner, Zanfardino said she is allowed to expand the store’s menu and the location as long as it is within reason.
Cha House North Myrtle Beach features a selfie chair and an outdoor patio. Richard Caines/Staff
“The other (Cha House) locations have more of an Asian vibe, whereas this one I feel is a little beachier,” she said. Trying to cater to the Grand Strand, I told them when we opened that North Myrtle Beach is so different than Raleigh and Cary.”
Zanfardino also sources out locally including coffee beans from Benjamin’s Bakery in Surfside Beach, doughnuts from Calabash, N.C.-based Blondiez Donuts and various desserts from Little River-based Lexi’s Sweets and Treats.
Although Cha House North Myrtle Beach currently serves ice cream on its menu, Zanfardino said she plans to introduce soft-serve options in the near future after hearing from residents that they prefer it to traditional spoon-fed ice cream.
Additionally, Zanfardino — whose teenage son Rivers works in the store after school — plans to open earlier after noticing that many North Myrtle Beach High School students make a run for breakfast and coffee in the mornings before making the trek to the school off of Sea Mountain Highway.
Current hours are from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, but Zanfardino said she foresees opening as early as 7 a.m. in the future to cater to the early risers.
Zanfardino said the store caters for weddings, and birthday parties are available at the North Myrtle Beach store or the customer’s location.
