Soon after taking ownership of The Drink Station in 2008, Adrian Hernandez’s business was vandalized. Pearland residents helped Hernandez clean up and rebuild his new store. Some even slept at the establishment to guard against further attacks.

“[Vandals] ripped holes in the wall, ripped the sink out of the wall, broke equipment and just [did] all sorts of stuff,” he said. “We had to kind of start over again.”

Today, Hernandez said he tries to show his customers the same level of care they showed him. To achieve this, Hernandez—who has a master’s degree in health education—said he takes measures to ensure the nutritional benefits and quality of all products.

“If you’re killing your customers, then they’re not going to be your customers for a very long time,” he said. “But if you contribute to their health, that’s a benefit to both them and you.”

The Drink Station offers a variety of teas, coffees and smoothies. Hernandez said his product costs are about three times more compared to corporate drink chains. The fresh ingredients and lack of refined products help create a quality beverage for customers, he said.

The business also uses different processes—such as making its tea in-house—to provide a more health-conscious product.

“I think those processes and the steps that we take, we do it in an effort to try to create what we consider to be a better drink,” Hernandez said.

Some of the best-selling items are the classic milk tea and strawberry banana smoothie, Hernandez said. The Drink Station also sells loose-leaf tea and milk tea sets.

With almost 15 years experience in the industry, Hernandez said the venture was a perfect way to combine his passions of tea and health education.

“There are a lot of people nowadays who go to school, they study something, and then they never get the opportunity to actually apply what they’ve learned to the real world,” he said. “This was a really cool opportunity for me to do that.”

The Drink Station

8209 W. Broadway St., Pearland 281-412-0755 www.thedrinkstation.com Hours: Sun. noon-8 p.m., Mon.-Thu. 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 10 a.m.-midnight