At 121 Lytton Avenue, the old TOMO Tea House is now Rikyu, a matcha counter that also serves chirashi. At 439 Waverley Street, the former Gong Cha space is being fitted out for Bonbon Matcha, a dessert-heavy matcha shop from Cupertino. On University Avenue, Auntea Jenny's planned storefront at number 328 sits next to Molly Tea at 318, which is open and pouring jasmine milk tea.
Spaces that shut down in downtown Palo Alto usually turn into something else. Here, two closed tea shops were taken over by new tea shops, and each newcomer is selling more than drinks. Downtown's tea scene changes from within, and each new tenant brings its own specialty.
Two storefronts changed hands and stayed tea shops
Rikyu is the clearest case. Palo Alto Online reported in February that the cafe would take the former TOMO Tea House space. The team behind it comes from Hiroshi, the Los Altos Japanese restaurant, and from chef Daiji Uehara's other fine-dining venture, Daiji Yacht Club. Uehara opened the storefront on July 20, according to a September review in The Paly Voice.
The menu goes well beyond drinks. Rikyu's own site lists matcha, sandos and chirashi, with a strawberry matcha made with house sauce and an ebi-katsu sando among the featured items. The address and the category stayed the same, and the new tenant brought a fine-dining kitchen with it.
The second case is around the corner. Bonbon Matcha is moving into the former Gong Cha space at 439 Waverley Street. Founder Emily Niu opened the first Bonbon Matcha in Cupertino in June. The space used to sell boba. The planned menu, as described in Palo Alto Online's September roundup of upcoming cafes, mixes drinks and pastry:
- Strawberry, mango and yuzu matcha lattes
- Matcha lattes topped with sea salt cheese foam, banana cream or strawberry cloud
- Matcha cake layered with matcha cream, matcha crepe roll cake and matcha tiramisu
- Several kinds of Basque cheesecake by the slice
Both turnovers went the same way. A tea shop closed, and a new tea concept with its own food or dessert menu moved into the same address.
The 200 to 400 blocks of University Avenue
The move toward specialists also shows on University Avenue, where several tea brands now operate within a few hundred address numbers of each other. Each one is known for something different.
| Shop | Address | Status in October 2026 | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rikyu | 121 Lytton Ave. | Open since July 20 | Matcha, sandos, chirashi |
| Maruwu Seicha | 250 University Ave. | Open since October 2024 | Uji matcha, hojicha, cheese tarts |
| Molly Tea | 318 University Ave. | Open | Floral jasmine teas |
| Auntea Jenny | 328 University Ave. | Listed as coming soon | Fruit teas, mango pomelo sago |
| Mr. Sun Tea | 436 University Ave. | Open | Tea drinks |
| Bonbon Matcha | 439 Waverley St. | Announced | Matcha drinks and desserts |
| Tong Sui | 540 Bryant St. | Open | Coconut puddings, fruit drinks |
Maruwu Seicha is the oldest of the group. It soft-opened at 250 University on Oct. 20, 2024, Palo Alto Online reported at the time. The company is based in Kyoto and has grown matcha on its own farm in Uji since 2011. The local menu leans on matcha and hojicha lattes, snow-top drinks, matcha gelato and Uji matcha cheese tarts. Two years later, the Palo Alto shop has become the base for regional expansion. Maruwu opened in Campbell in June and plans a Castro Street outpost in Mountain View, at 236 Castro St., expected in June 2027.
A little farther down the avenue, Molly Tea at 318 University specializes in floral-scented Chinese teas. The brand was founded in Shenzhen. A February review in The Campanile singled out its Premium Jasmine Milk Tea and Premium Jasmine Matcha Milk Tea and described the Palo Alto shop as crowded. Mr. Sun Tea's location list puts its Palo Alto shop at 436 University Ave.
One street over, Tong Sui at 540 Bryant St. is more of a dessert stop that also serves drinks. Debby Wang started Tong Sui in Sunnyvale in 2019. It is known for coconut pudding topped with fresh fruit, and its best sellers include the Mango Mochi Coconut Pudding and Mango Sticky Rice Coconut Pudding. The company had seven locations as of September and was aiming for 12 within a year, with a Mountain View shop at 747 W. Dana St. on its October schedule.
The 328 University storefront is still waiting
Auntea Jenny shows what this kind of popularity attracts. It is the Shanghai-based brand founded by Rongrong Zhou in 2013 and has more than 10,000 stores worldwide. It opened its first U.S. location in New York the year before and its first California shop in Orange County in February 2026. When Palo Alto Online first reported the Palo Alto plans in February, the brand was presenting University Avenue as its Bay Area debut. In other words, a chain of that size picked this block for its first Bay Area shop.
The brand is also positioning itself against a familiar stereotype. Cherry Wu, marketing manager for Auntea Jenny North America, told Palo Alto Online:
"We aim to move beyond the 'sugar-heavy' stereotype of bubble tea."
That same article listed a superfood and veggie line of drinks, including a kale fiber boost tea, along with vegan "pearl boba" made from watercress rather than starch. The most popular drink is the mango pomelo sago. The Palo Alto shop was planned with limited seating, an orange banquette and two small tables.
The opening date has slipped several times. In February the target was summer. By mid-September it was late September. As of mid-October, the brand's own locations page still lists 328 University Ave. as "Coming Soon." The brand also plans a downtown San Mateo shop in the former Hereetea space, so the Palo Alto storefront is one of two Peninsula sites in progress.
Bonbon Matcha's timeline has moved in the same way. In August, the East Bay Times reported that the owner expected the Waverley shop to open in late September or early October. By mid-September the forecast had become early to mid-October. Until the doors open, treat both as announced openings, not places to plan an afternoon around.
Why so many new arrivals choose downtown
Palo Alto Online noted in September that Auntea Jenny's arrival is part of a wider wave of Chinese tea brands moving onto the Peninsula. Mixue, HeyTea, Charlie's Tea and Molly Tea are among the others. The same outlet's September roundup listed Rikyu and Maruwu Seicha as recent matcha openings in downtown Palo Alto.
Downtown already has a tea shop for most cravings. A new arrival has to bring something the street doesn't have yet. For Rikyu, that was a fine-dining kitchen behind the matcha counter. For Bonbon, it is a dessert case. For Auntea Jenny, it is fruit-forward and lower-sugar drinks. Anyone who now opens in a former tea space is competing with the shop that was there before and with the ones a short walk away.
That gives you a simple way to decide where to go:
- For matcha with lunch, Rikyu on Lytton is the one that serves real food.
- For Uji matcha and a cheese tart, Maruwu Seicha at 250 University has been doing it for two years.
- For jasmine-forward milk tea, Molly Tea is at 318 University.
- For dessert with your drink, Tong Sui's coconut puddings are on Bryant, and Bonbon's Basque cheesecake is on the way at 439 Waverley.
The next storefront to watch is 328 University Ave., where Auntea Jenny's opening has moved from a summer target to a late-September one and is still listed as "Coming Soon."
At The ReSolve Group, we follow which downtown Palo Alto storefronts turn over and what replaces them, because those changes shape how each block feels day to day. If you're weighing a move and want that street-level view as part of the conversation, we're glad to sit down over a matcha and talk it through.