Managed to a Tea: Sophomore Shubra Durgavathi owns and manages her own boba shop called Tea-Rex

Giving the plastic cup a quick mix to reveal its yellow-to-red gradient, sophomore Shubra Durgavathi places the fruit tea on the counter and calls out: “One Stagmangosaurus.” The mango-strawberry boba tea is a fan favorite at the local boba tea shop Duragavathi took ownership of in August 2023 — Tea-Rex.

For the past year, Durgavathi has taken responsibility for the shop by working multiple shifts weekly, training new employees and managing the shop — all to earn the position of the owner.

It was June 2022 when Duragavathi first stepped foot into the shop, located in Mission. She had heard about the new boba store from a few friends who were already employed there, one of whom being the owner’s daughter. She ordered a bubble tea from the wide selection of different types of teas and flavors and sat down by the counter, chatting with two employees, who happened to also be her friends, right as the manager, Clay Griggs strutted through the door.

“You might as well work here if all of your friends do too,” Griggs said with a laugh.

Before Durgavathi could even process what Griggs had just said, both her friends chimed in, convincing her to apply. Durgavathi was 15 years old, just about to start high school and never had a real job before, but she reluctantly agreed.

Just seconds later, Griggs sat down right in the middle of the shop and began interviewing her for the job. He asked her a few questions, handed her an apron and Durgavathi began her first shift.

“It was a small business, so rules were significantly looser than they would be anywhere else,” Durgavathi said. “He kind of just threw you right into it and you would figure it out as you go.”

That summer, Durgavathi started working regular Saturday four-hour shifts at the shop. However, as Griggs increased his staff due to low employment numbers and frequent job offers to any patron that entered the shop, many employees wouldn’t show up to their regular shifts. Durgavathi quickly became one of the few reliable employees who worked regularly.

Griggs noticed her hard work and started joking about making Durgavathi his “manager,” teasing other employees by saying if they had any complaints to take it up with her. As time went on, he became more serious about Durgavathi’s title of manager and gave her the responsibility of scheduling all his employees, checking the shop's inventory and determining staff pay — all tasks she enjoyed. 

“It’s always a lot of fun to be able to make sure everything in the shop is running smoothly,” Durgavathi said.

Durgavathi worked as the manager alongside Griggs until August 2022, when Griggs became burnt out. Planning on selling the shop, he noticed that Durgavathi truly enjoyed working for the shop so he offered Durgavathi the company along with any machinery and products that were left over.

Preparing to start her sophomore year of high school, while keeping up with her commitment to the marching band, Durgavathi didn’t know if she would be able to manage the demands of the company, while keeping her outside life in shape. However, she didn't want the company to go under, so she decided to take up Griggs’ offer and accept ownership of Tea-Rex.

Most of the employees left when the location was closed but two employees, sophomore Kai Campbell and junior Ash Hattrup, stayed and planned to support Durgavathi’s visions to keep the company running.

Being the shop owner gave Durgavathi all new responsibilities, including getting the necessary permits to sell food, running the social media and managing events where she will sell her drinks for promotion. The promotion to shop owner inevitably made Durgavathi improve her time management skills. 

“The consequences of not being good at time management have doubled as the owner so it's just become so much more important to me to have all the different aspects all figured out,” Durgavathi said. 

While Durgavathi is still searching for a new physical location to house her boba shop, she and her two other employees serve their tea at local farmers' markets in Mission and Overland Park and cater events upon request. These requests can be made by direct messaging the shop using their Instagram @tearex.mobile.

Campbell likes the relaxed environment Durgavathi provides for her employees, making shifts manageable and infrequent. Because of this, he’s still able to keep a job during the busy school year with the pop-ups she organizes. 

“I thought that I could help [Durvagathi] with the pop-up and it would be pretty infrequent but it would still be a job and I wouldn't have to be pressed to find a new one,” Campbell said.  “I feel like it would just be a more relaxed situation than having to go find a job at a commercial store.”

At the pop-up events, they set up their shop, lemonade-stand style with a table to prepare drinks. They bring all the supplies needed, including their boba tea sealer, fruit juices, boba pearls and ice chest. They typically bring enough supplies to sell 50 drinks each hour.

Durgavathi plans to own this business throughout high school and pass it down to someone else when she graduates. But if she can’t find anyone willing to take on the task of owning the shop, she’ll continue running the business out of her passion for the company.

“I'm having so much fun honestly, it's a lot of work, but it's fun,” Durvagathi said.