Today we’d like to introduce you to Chun Wong.
Hi Chun, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Before I started this business, I was an electrical engineer of 10 years and had been working in eastern Cleveland. While I loved the subject of electrical engineering, I found the my career seems to be heading in a different direction from my goals. I remember I used to work long hours and had conference calls with oversea suppliers late in the night. I often felt burned out and felt like my work underappreciated. Ultimately, I felt a bit lost in my career, and that feeling was intensified during the pandemic. It was also during the pandemic that my first daughter was born, which gave me a different outlook in life. I realized that my time should be invested in my family and my effort should be dedicated to build something that matters to us. At that time, a relative of mine told me about their new boba business, and I did believe that Cleveland is in deficit of good boba places. Everything adds up to where we are now!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I can’t say it was smooth sailing all the way. It has been a learning process along the way.
I started my journey for this business back in July 2021. My first obstacle was to secure the location for Mooncat. I started out from east Cleveland, where I currently live. Over the two years of my search, I had come across a handful of potential homes for the Mooncat. Campus of Akron University, John Carroll University, Coventry to name a few… From my experience, it was rather difficult for a new business to secure a commercial lease. First of all, property owner favors national franchises as tenants. Typically, those national franchises would have an exclusivity clause established in their lease to not allow specific of business to enter the same property. That means any busy, popular properties with a Starbucks or other big beverage chains would automatically not accept our letter of intent. That’s what I learned quickly with the first couple inquiries.
In the same vein, if the property is managed by a corporation, the lease may be set up to favor a national franchise. I wasn’t sure if it is common, but a few of the leases we were offered required us to provide our full annual sales report to the property management as decline in sales would be grounded for lease termination. In addition, one lease reserved the right for us to move from our unit if they deem it necessary to fit a national franchise. The scenario given was if we are located in a middle unit of three spaces, the landlord would have the right to move our business to an end unit to create a larger space for a franchise. Granted it would be done under the expenses of the landlord, the uncertainty of such a clause is rather hard for a new business.
It wasn’t until in late 2022 we looked into the Fulton-Clark area, namely on West 25th St, per my parents’ advices. My family has been living and running a restaurant business in this area for 30+ years. They said, “Why not look closer to home?” Long story short, we ended up where we are now, 5 minutes away from our first home in Cleveland. I still remember this very spot used to be a convenient store. It is a very strange feeling to occupy this space that I have known for so long.
After we secured the space, there are a few rough patches. A notable one: During the subzero ice storm at the end of 2022, the apartment upstairs had a pipe burst and flooded into our unit. Luckily, we hadn’t start novation yet, but it delayed our schedule for 3 months.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Mooncat specializes in the delightful boba tea drink. Within the city of Cleveland, there are a number of places that serve boba tea. However, Mooncat is the first dedicated boba cafe. Mooncat is locally owned, independent brand run by a local Clevelander. I do hope to get everyone to try us out!
Boba (Tapioca pearls) is quite a tricky delicacy. In order to imbrue flavor into the boba itself, it must be “marinated in a sugar solution. However, as soon as the boba hit the syrup, it will begin a countdown on the boba as the texture of the boba would start to change. Boba has this signature chewy, bouncy texture, which we called “Q”. Over time, the “Q” level starts to decay. At one extreme, you have the boba at its peak “Q” level fresh out of the pot but bland and tasteless. On the other hand, you have a perfectly seasoned and delicious boba with zero “Q”-ness. Controlling the quality of the boba is a delicate bouncing act. Mooncat aims to make sure each cup of boba we serve has the right balance of flavor and “Q” texture that’s up to our standard. We believe there are no such thing as bad boba, but only poorly prepared ones. (Side note: Our recent introduction of Doordash/Uber Eats delivery also add a layer of complexity in the equation. Once boba sits in an icy drink, the boba will begin to harden due to the cold. We are constantly making sure to make the boba drink at the very last minute before the pick-up to ensure the boba would reach the customer at its best.)
In addition, I would like to put a spotlight on our popcorn chicken/chicken rice bowl. The chicken is made from scratch here at Mooncat. It is largely based in the Taiwanese recipe that emphasizes on stronger flavor from Chinese 5 spices and white pepper. The recipe took quite a few iteration until it arrived to where it is. I am rather proud of it!
I am currently testing a few other recipes to put a spotlight on some other Asian dishes later this year. Stay tuned on our Instagram!
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
First and foremost, I have to give the biggest credit to my wife. The decision for me to quit my job and to pursue this business puts a lot of pressure on my wife. When it all started in mid-2021, our daughter was not even one year ago yet. I was able to take care of my daughter during my searches, but as the work starts to build up, we did have to consider other childcare options, like daycare, and it adds on a heavy financial burden on the family budget. Earlier this year, my wife also gave born to our second daughter. Now that the business is running, my wife runs double duty with her job and taking care of the kids. I can’t imagine a better support to my selfish little endeavor than my wife.
Secondly, I would also need to thank my family in financially supporting the whole business venture. While my wife and I have some savings, we did not have nearly enough to fund this business endeavor without taking a huge loan. Thanks to my family pooling in the fund, I didn’t have to worry about high interest from the current rates.
Last but not least, my wife’s family has been showing tremendous support, ranging from sharing their expertise in the boba business to assistance in childcare and day-to-day affairs. The idea to start a boba tea business originated from my in-law’s family as they were the ones first to do them. After their hard work in mastering the techniques and know-how, they selflessly shared all of their secret to a successful boba business to us. This business would be at a very different place without their guidance.
Besides the assistance in the business, my wife’s family provided their helping hands during the most difficult time we had earlier this year. In January, right after the business unit was flooded from the pipe burst, I mentioned previously my second daughter was born 4 weeks ahead of schedule. While she was considered pretty healthy for a premy, she did experience a cold and had to stay in the ICU for two weeks. During these times, my wife’s family came to stay with us to help us with literally everything.
All in all, we are fortunate to have our family to provide us with the support to get to where we are.
Pricing:
- $4.5 Milk Tea (+$1 for Large) (+0.65 for each topping)
- $4.5 Flavored Tea (+$1 for Large) (+0.65 for each topping)
- $4.75 Slushie (+$1 for Large) (+0.65 for each topping)
- $6.5 Popcorn Chicken
- $7 Chicken Rice Bowl
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mooncatbobacafe.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mooncatbobacafe/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mooncat-boba-cafe-cleveland
Image Credits
Yaqeen Thaher
Mandy Kraynak
