Build the friendliest café in your neighborhood.
Premium bubble tea, made-to-order onigiri, and Asian-American comfort food. A family-run brand with 10 locations since 2008 — now welcoming new franchise partners.
Apply nowFrom a hole-in-the-wall to 10 cafés.
Founder Mindy Cheung opened the first Yaya Tea in 2008 during the financial crisis, out of a tiny storefront in Manhattan's Chinatown. She was the first to pair bubble tea with onigiri, and built the brand around high-quality ingredients, warm hospitality, and Asian-American comfort food.
“What started as the dream of a college student is now a thriving business — we'd love for you to join the next chapter.”
Is this the right opportunity for you?
You're a strong fit if you…
This is who thrives with Yaya Tea
- Plan to be the owner-operator — in your café most days
- Have $150,000+ in liquid capital (or a partner who does)
- Have good business sense and are willing to follow a proven system
- Are excited about hospitality and serving your community face-to-face
Probably not a fit if you…
Save your time — and ours
- Want a fully passive investment with no day-to-day involvement
- Aren’t ready to pursue financing if you don’t have full capital available
- Are exploring concepts in general and not specifically excited about Yaya Tea
You won't be doing this alone.
Site & build-out help
Location review, demographic research, sample layouts, and equipment guidance from lease to launch.
Hands-on training
One-week immersive training at our NYC corporate cafés, plus on-site support for your grand opening.
Marketing & suppliers
National brand marketing, grand opening campaigns, and pre-negotiated vendor relationships.
Protected territory
An exclusive territory around your café — plus ongoing operational support for the life of your franchise.
From application to grand opening.
Apply
5-minute form. We review within 3 business days.
Discovery Call
A 30-minute call to share details and answer questions.
Discovery Day
A full day in NYC. Meet our team, tour cafés, taste everything.
FDD Review
Receive our Franchise Disclosure Document and review at your pace.
Sign & Open
Find your site, train with us, open in 4–6 months.
Frequently asked.
More detail on your discovery call.
Do I need restaurant experience?
No specific background is required. We're looking for good business sense and a willingness to follow our proven system. If you don't have restaurant experience, we recommend hiring an experienced general manager who'll complete our training program with you.
Can I be an absentee owner?
We strongly prefer owner-operators. Absentee ownership is permitted if your trained general manager completes our program, but our most successful partners are the ones present in the café.
Does Yaya Tea offer financing?
No in-house financing, but we can refer you to partner funding companies that handle SBA loans and IRA/401(k) rollover programs.
How long until I'm open?
Roughly 4–6 months from signing the Franchise Agreement to grand opening — including site selection, lease negotiation, build-out, training, and staffing.
Start your application.
Takes about 5 minutes. We'll follow up within 3 business days.
We review every submission personally. Your information stays confidential.