Sometimes, the pieces just fall into place.
For Uyen Nguyen and her husband Alex Alfaro, those pieces were a trio of restaurants in West Reading.
The owners of Winne Mochi, Winnie Tea Bar, and Takkii Ramen West Reading didn’t plan on becoming restaurateurs when they got jobs at the Reading Hospital.
But their craving for bubble tea — a Taiwanese blend of tea, sweetened milk, fruit juices, and bite-sized tapioca balls — was too strong to ignore.
“We used to have to travel far to get bubble tea,” Nguyen said. “We wanted to bring something that wasn’t available in our town yet.”
The couple soon hatched a plan to open a bubble tea shop as a side gig, but that plan changed after a fateful encounter with Marco Lu, the owner of the Takkii Ramen franchise, while shopping for supplies in New York.
“He asked us, do you want to open ramen?,” Nguyen said. “We said no…But when we came back home, we kept thinking more about it.”
They realized that the Reading area was a ramen desert. And it needed an oasis.
When the site of the former El Morro Café became vacant, Nguyen and Alfaro jumped at the opportunity.
“It took three, four months to open (Takkii Ramen in early 2022),” Nguyen said. “When we opened, we were so, so busy…we had people waiting outside, wrapped outside of the building…for the first, I would say, six months.”
Nguyen and Alfaro split their time between Takkii, 36 N. Sixth Ave., and their full-time jobs at the hospital.
“After we got out of work, we would go straight to the restaurant and work,” Nguyen said. “It got so, so busy…it did way better than what we had expected.”
Takkii offered some bubble tea options, but after multiple requests from customers for an expanded bubble tea selection, Nguyen and Alfaro figured it was time to realize their original dream.
They left their jobs and opened Winnie Tea Bar, 725 Penn Ave., in early 2023.
“We decided it might be a little too much to run two shops and still work at our jobs,” Alfaro said. “We wanted to make sure we could give it our all.”
Nguyen noted that restaurant, named after her nickname, “Winnie,” offers traditional bubble tea with a twist.
“I add milkshakes with boba, I add other things too it, we (also) have milk teas, fruit teas, coffee, we have everything here…over 100 drinks,” Nguyen said. “Kids, adults, older folks, we have something for everybody here.”
One popular item at Winnie Bubble Tea wasn’t a drink.
“We did something called bubble waffles,” Alfaro said. “They’re made from mochi…We did different flavors, and a lot of people really enjoyed them…That’s what led into Winnie Mochi.”
The Mochi donuts sold at Winnie, 400 Penn Ave., aren’t like typical donuts. They’re flower-shaped, made with rice flour and tapioca starch, creating a unique texture that is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
“We top it off with different topings, chocolate glaze, etc.,” Nguyen said. “Some of our popular flavors at Winnie Tea Bar, we’re able to incorporate into the donuts, like crème brûlée.”
Alfaro said mochi donuts are light, fluffy, and half the calories of typical donuts.
Another popular and unique item at Winnie Mochi is Korean corn dogs, which use wheat or rice flour instead of cornmeal for the batter.
Alfaro noted that each of their restaurants is a first in Berks County — they’re the area’s first ramen restaurant, bubble tea shop and mochi donut shop.
“We travel, we like to taste and learn different cultures,” Nguyen said. “That’s what we like to bring to our community.”
Although she offers a global array of flavors, Nguyen said she is proud of her roots.
“I graduated from Muhlenberg High, I went to Alvernia University,” Nguyen said. “I studied chemistry and minored in Spanish; I think my education contributes to what I’m doing now.”
Nguyen is one of a handful of Alvernia graduates who own establishments in West Reading, including Kacie Griffith, the Bar Cart, Rick Turner, Legacy Cigar Lounge, and Massimo Grande, Nonno Alby’s.
In the future, Nguyen said she hopes to expand Takki Ramen
“We’re not in a rush, we’re doing well,” Nguyen said. “In the future, if another location opens up, we would like to expand and offer more items on our menu.”
She said the current space is only 1,000 square feet, which limits the size of the menu.
Another change in the future for Takkii may be the addition of a helping hand— a hand made of metal, and belonging to a four-foot-tall robot.
“They’ll come to the table with servers and (take dishes to the kitchen),” Nguyen said. “They talk, dress up in Japanese uniforms, it’s kind of cool.”
Nguyen said the robots have already taken up residence at other Takkii locations.
Takkii Ramen has locations in Kutztown, Allentown, Quakertown, Easton, Slatington, Syosset, New York, and Riverhead, New York.
Its sister company, Rakkii Ramen, has locations in Doylestown, Bethlehem, Smithtown, New York, and New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Nguyen and Alfaro’s success has allowed them to open other Winnie Tea Bars — in Columbus, Indiana — as well as a location in Muhlenberg that opened in November.
Another joint Winnie Mochi and Winnie Tea Bar is located in Orlando, Florida.
