Harrogate might be famous around the world for its tea, but a new kid on the block called bubble tea has arrived with the opening of Sweet Pearl House on Commercial Street.

Bubble tea originated in Taiwan and has gone on to become one of the nation’s best-loved and most recognisable exports with takeaway cafes in cities across the UK.

The drink blends a milk or fruit tea base before the signature “bubbles” are added. The bubbles are made from chewy tapioca pearls, also called boba, that sit at the bottom.

Bubble tea is particularly popular among teenagers and is sucked through an especially large straw, which has enough room to hoover up the bubbles.

The family-run Sweet Pearl House was opened last week by Candy Yip and her husband Man Wong. The couple and their daughter moved to Harrogate from Hong Kong last year.

Ms Yip said she spotted a gap in the market and wanted to share their love of bubble tea as well as traditional Hong Kong egg waffle snacks.

“I think Harrogate loves tea, but I didn’t see any bubble tea places here.

“We love drinking tea so much. We opened the shop to share popular Taiwan tea and Hong Kong traditional eggettes snacks culture to people in Harrogate.”

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Sweet Pearl House offers customers different milk or fruit tea bases, including brown sugar milk, strawberry, matcha, jasmine and oolong.

These are combined with fruity toppings including peach, passion fruit and mango, which are served with the tapioca bubbles.

Pearl Sweet House

Most of the drinks can be served hot or cold. Opening hours are from 11.30am to 5.30pm Tuesday to Saturday and from 10.30am to 4.30pm on Sundays.

Almost all the ingredients are imported from Taiwan directly, which Ms Yip says ensures their drinks have the authentic bubble tea taste. 

She added:

“The bubble milk tea is a unique taste. There really is no other drink like it.”

Harrogate shoppers have responded generously to a plea to donate chocolate this Christmas for people struggling to make ends meet.

Commercial Street Retailers Group is working with Harrogate District Foodbank on the initiative, which runs until December 15.

People can drop-off chocolate at four shops on Commercial Street: Foxy Antiques and Interiors, the Harrogate Town shop, Lilly’s Bistro and Cafe and White Rose Sewing.

The food bank had said it was overwhelmed by demand for help this Christmas and although it had received many donations of staple products, such as tinned food, some chocolate would add a touch of luxury to seasonal food parcels.

Sue Kramer, of Crown Jewellers on Commercial Street and head of the retailers group, said a previous article on the Stray Ferret has generated a huge response.

“it’s going really well so far — Sue from Lilly’s has dropped off the first batch of chocolates and Harrogate Foodbank were both shocked and delighted with how much there was.

“It’s so heartwarming to know that even with everything everyone has been through with covid there is still genuine kindness and compassion in Harrogate for those less fortunate.

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Harrogate shoppers are being urged to donate chocolate in the next fortnight to brighten up Christmas for people struggling to make ends meet.

Commercial Street Retailers Group is working with Harrogate District Foodbank on the initiative.

Sue Kramer, of Crown Jewellers on Commercial Street and head of the retailers group, said:

“The foodbank told us that they are absolutely overwhelmed with families needing help at the moment. They also said that the one thing they are short of is chocolate: boxes of chocolate biscuits, selection boxes etc, which are classed as more “luxury” items. It’s incredibly sad to think of families not having chocolate, which many people would not regard as luxury, at Christmas.

“We have decided to become the ‘sweetest street’ in Harrogate and from December 1 to 15 we will have festive drop-off points on the street so that people can drop off anything chocolatey.”

People can donate chocolate at four shops on Commercial Street: Foxy Antiques and Interiors, the Harrogate Town shop, Lilly’s Bistro and Cafe and White Rose Sewing.

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The retailers group has come up with various initiatives recently to promote Commercial Street’s array of independent shops and to support the community.

It worked with the charity Disability Action Yorkshire to make it more accessible to people with disabilities and held a dog friendly day.

Ms Kramer said:

“We are always trying to do new and innovative things on Commercial Street. We are also getting bespoke Christmassy bunting made by a local company, Flying Colours in Knaresborough.

“Our street is going to look fantastic and will have a real Christmas community spirit — after all it is the season of goodwill unto others.”

Just a week after reopening due to a flood, a Harrogate shop has had its windows smashed by bricks and boulders.

The electrical goods store, Crampton & Moore, on Commercial Street is boarded up following the incident in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Store manager Chris Johnson said he received a call at 2.15am on Saturday to say the glass had be smashed.

He said North Yorkshire Police called within 15 minutes about the incident.

The window pane needs replacing but thanks to metal grills behind it, nothing was stolen.

The extent of the damage at the electrical shop.

Mr Johnson said:

“The whole thing was caught on CCTV. Luckily they didn’t get anything so it’s just a case of waiting for the repair this week.”

The shop had only reopened on Monday last week after the eight-week flood closure.

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The shop remains open, with the damaged section closed off to customers.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement:

“A man in his 50s was promptly arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary following this incident. He’s been bailed while the investigation continues.”

Businesses on Harrogate’s Commercial Street are to host a dog-friendly day a week on Saturday.

The street initiative will see shops put matching water bowls outside to show they are dog-friendly and some local pet-related businesses will run stalls throughout the day.

From 10:30 until 3:30, businesses, including The Harrogate Vet, Peach and Pooch and Miss Mollie’s Rescue will have stalls on the street.

They will offer goods such as dog treats and goodie bags and host competitions for people to take part in.

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The event will take place the day after national Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 25.

Commercial Street is home to over 22 independent businesses, with 20 being members of the retailer group that organises community events.

Organisers will soon be placing dog-friendly logos against businesses on its website so people can see the full list of participants.

Harrogate Town’s shop on Commercial Street is to become a permanent fixture after the club signed a lease to stay.

The store opened in April, initially as a one-week pop-up shop to sell club merchandise and provide information on community initiatives.

It’s being run by the club’s community foundation in a unit previously occupied by Scandinavian lighting company Nordium.

The shop has proved popular and has also given fans the chance to see the National League play-off final trophy and the FA Trophy, plus meet members of the first team and club mascot Harry Gator.

Shops on Commercial Street were decorated in yellow and black bunting last week in honour of Town’s Wembley heroes, who beat Concord Rangers in the FA Trophy final.

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Shops on Commercial Street have been decorated in yellow and black bunting today in honour of Harrogate Town’s Wembley heroes.

The club, which has a pop-up shop on the street, supplied the bunting and Town scarves to celebrate the 1-0 defeat of Concord Rangers in yesterday’s FA Trophy final.

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Sue Kramer, who owns Crown Jewellers and is manager of the Commercial Street retailers group that has arranged many of the recent improvements on the street, praised the community spirit of the street’s retailers, saying:

“We’ve been here for 21 years and this is the first time I’ve known the street really come together for something.”

According to Ms Kramer, the street’s shop owners have been working closely together with the local council to improve the street.

Harrogate Borough Council recently replaced a bench in the street, while Harrogate Business Improvement District has added the street to its watering round for hanging baskets.

Alex Clarke, owner of Foxy Antiques and Interiors, watched Town beat Concord Rangers 1-0 from the teepee at Cedar Court Hotel on Monday:

“It was freezing, but there was a great atmosphere.”

Gemma Aykroyd, owner of The Cheeseboard, said that footfall had been “great” since the shops reopened. She had bunting up in her windows, as well as black and yellow balloons that she bought herself.

Harrogate Town football club will open a pop-up shop on Commercial Street for a week from Monday.

The club’s Community Foundation will open the shop at number 32 Commercial Street on April 12 at 9am in a unit previously occupied by Scandinavian lighting company Nordium.

Town supporters will be able to buy club merchandise in person for the first time since before the latest lockdown came into effect.

Fans can also have their picture taken with the National League promotion trophy that the team won last summer.

Information will be available on community initiatives, including Louie Swain’s boot camp, walking football, a running club, sporting memories, man vs fat, and NCS summer programmes.

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On Wednesday, in association with the English Football League’s Day of Action, when clubs showcase their community work, club mascot Harry Gator and former player Jack Emmett will be available for pictures and a chat from 2-3pm.

Then at the weekend, visitors will have the chance to show their skills as Harrogate Town on FIFA 21.

The first customer through the doors each day will receive a prize.

The shop will open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 5.30pm and on Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

Retailers are hoping a new way of life could be on the horizon as they await the Prime Minister’s plans for easing lockdown.

Independent business owners in the Harrogate district say support for them over the last year has been heartwarming – and they hope it will lead to a revival in their fortunes after covid.

Among those eagerly waiting for Boris Johnson to reveal his plans this evening are traders on Harrogate’s Commercial Street. Sue Kramer, who runs Crown Jewellers with her husband, said:

“We want to get back to business so people can come to real shops and deal with real people.

“I hope people will fall back in love with going to little streets like ours and that sense of community and knowing the people in the shops they use.

“I hope it will go back to how it used to be, years ago.”

Though the last year has been tough for retail, the businesses on Commercial Street have come closer together than ever before and are working on plans to increase footfall over the coming months.

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Similarly, Knaresborough had been enjoying a rise in its fortunes before the coronavirus crisis hit: it currently has just six empty shops, compared to 16 two years ago.

Steve Teggin, president of the town’s chamber of trade, said he hoped businesses would be able to reopen in time to allow the newest to find their feet properly after months of uncertainty.

“The government has helped to keep them limping along, but we really need to be able to open again now.

“We don’t want another lockdown after this, so it has to be right, but in this area particularly the vaccine system has gone as smooth as silk, so hopefully Boris will safely get us back open.”

Retailers in Knaresborough hope reopening will run smoothly

While a sector-specific reopening plan could be announced, Mr Teggin said he hoped there would not be too much delay between different businesses being allowed to return to trading. A barber himself, he said many customers come into town for haircuts and go on to use other shops, so having as much open as possible will deliver the most trade for all businesses.

His view was backed up by Kala Timson, who runs children’s shoe shop Stomp in the market place. She said the business’s third lockdown had been quieter, as customers awaited warmer weather and shops reopening, but she was hopeful of a boost in trade when the doors are opened again.

“Last time, the kids wanted to come back in and see us, and the parents were saying ‘we haven’t spoken to anyone for so long!’. It’s almost a novelty to be out and browsing, so we’ll have to have appointments again to limit the number of people in the shop.

“We’ve got things set up well for click and collect at the moment, and we can get the shop open again when we’re allowed. What we don’t want to do is come out of lockdown too early and find we have to close again.”

Mrs Kramer agreed, adding:

“I just hope it’s a well thought-out plan that takes into account businesses’ needs, but also the fact that we don’t want to end up in lockdown again.

“You wouldn’t have thought a year ago that we’d still be here, being locked down again. We don’t want to keep having this situation.”

A Harrogate street full with independent retailers has banded together to beat coronavirus.

Commercial Street has a new retailers group designed at promoting all of the shops online.

Shops pay £52 a year to join and all of that money goes into a pot to pay for the website and any future campaigns.

More than 70% of the street is already signed up. They all hope that it can help them get a bumper Christmas after a difficult year.

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Sue Kramer, of Crown Jewellers and head of the Commercial Street Retailers Group, said:

“It’s been a tough time for shops. But we hope that we can come out of coronavirus in a strong position.

“Christmas is such an important time so we are very happy to be in tier two. The new group has come at a great time.’

She hopes that the new group can encourage customers to keep coming back and exploring Commercial Street.

Despite the difficult year Sue believes that independent shops like the ones on Commercial Street will be the heart of town centres in years to come.