As its name suggests, Boba Grande doesn’t fall short for fans of milk teas in generous portions.
The new Orcutt shop’s smallest boba size is its regular (16 ounces), priced at $5.95. For $2 more, patrons can upgrade to the grande (32 ounces), which manager Kavi Wimalasoma once struggled to finish over the span of a four-hour drive.
“I went to Yosemite and took a grande with me and just drank it the whole way there,” recalled Wimalasoma, who said there was still quite a bit left upon reaching the national park.
Wimalasoma saved the rest in a mini-fridge and finished it the following day.
“We’re known for our sizing,” said Wimalasoma, who has worked for Boba Grande owner Steve Jeon in different capacities for almost eight years. Jeon also owns Sake Sushi in Lompoc and Santa Maria.
“If you go to Sake Sushi ... you’ll see that the portions are huge,” Wimalasoma said. “Right now, especially in California, everything’s so pricey. You want to pay for something that is worth your money. I think [Steve] sees that.”
Wimalasoma said that Jeon and his wife, Ines Kim, curated Boba Grande’s drink and food menu with an experimental mindset. The couple’s other restaurants serve ramen for example, but with a more traditional approach than the ramen route they set a course for at Boba Grande.
In the style of Korea’s self-serve convenience stores, Boba Grande has two EZ Cook ramen machines with ramen and topping choices, allowing guests to “grab whatever you need and cook it on the spot,” Wimalasoma said.
“It’s a trend right now in Korea. Hopefully it comes to the U.S. We’re kind of bringing it here,” Wimalasoma said. “[Jeon] does have Japanese ramen at other locations, but this is the first time he’s trying that machine.”
Ramen isn’t the only savory dish you’ll find at Boba Grande, nor is the shop’s sweet side limited to its many drink offerings—including bobas, smoothies, slushes, frappes, and lemonades.
The venue’s menu includes Korean corn dogs, chicken bites, ice cream macarons, and taiyaki. The latter is a traditional Japanese dessert—a fish-shaped waffle with different fillings to choose from, including Nutella and sweet red bean paste.
When it comes to the shop’s vast array of bobas and other cool drinks to choose from, Wimalasoma’s personal go-to is the cookies ‘n cream frappe. Runners-up include the brown sugar milk boba and the mangonada.
“I’ve tried almost all of them. They’re all really good,” said Wimalasoma, who gladly took on an informal taste tester role at Boba Grande shortly before the shop opened its doors earlier this summer.
Wimalasoma has managerial duties at both Boba Grande and Lompoc’s Sake Sushi. As a big fan of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wimalasoma said managing Boba Grande feels like running a Wonka-esque destination in some ways, as so many of its menu items welcome unconventionality.
There’s ample room for sweet and savory collisions between Korean corn dogs and taiyaki, for example, as there’s a sugarcoated option for the former and some meaty fillings—including a sausage filling and pepperoni pizza filling—to choose from with the latter.
While Wimalasoma now has a Wonka-ish setting to look forward to during work hours at Boba Grande, the pinnacle of the manager’s Wonka fandom remains in the past, tied to a memorable encounter with a customer at Sake Sushi in Lompoc.
In 2022, actor Jordan Fry, who played Mike Teavee in Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, paid the restaurant a visit.
“His family’s from Lompoc, so he came to visit,” said Wimalasoma, who missed the chance to meet Fry inside the restaurant but sprinted after him for a photo in the parking lot.
“He looks exactly the same—just older and taller,” Wimalasoma said with a laugh.
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is turning violet. Send Everlasting Gobstoppers to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.