When they met, Huy Nguyen worked as an event coordinator, and Jennie Nguyen worked with the banquet hall where Huy was planning weddings. She also worked as a barista for another teahouse, crafting teas, juices and smoothies.
“I was inspired by her,” Huy Nguyen said. “Then we pulled together and opened a business.”
The details
The duo opened the first iteration of the beverage shop in 2017 on Voss Road in Houston, but they shuttered this store two years later. In July 2019, they opened the Sugar Land location on Promenade Way.
“We wanted to be closer to home,” Huy Nguyen said.
Creamery Teahouse’s menu was crafted from Jennie Nguyen's experience, but flavors and concoctions have been tested and tried by the owners and customers, Huy Nguyen said.
Their guests can customize any drink on the menu with a variety of juices, syrups, flavor-filled popping jellies, fruits and flavors; they can even choose the level of sweetness for their beverage.
One of the business owners' strengths is being unafraid of trying new and different things and listening to what their customers want, Huy Nguyen said.
“What makes us unique is that customers can create their own drink,” Huy Nguyen said. “Once a customer actually ordered banana coffee before we even had it on the menu. So, why not?”
Beverage options include fresh juices, green tea refreshers, cream teas and tea lattes, flavored milk teas, flavored club sodas, slushies and Vietnamese coffees. The teahouse also sells small bites, such as banh mi sandwiches, dumplings, french fries and egg rolls.
Some of the more unique offerings include the pandan artichoke juice, served with aloe, basil seeds and jellies. Huy Nguyen said the artichoke flower and pandan leaves are brewed like tea, and the drink has a neutral flavor that's good for detoxing.
The couple would host karaoke nights and other events when they first opened, but they had to halt these gatherings once the COVID-19 pandemic forced most businesses to close for in-person service.
Huy Nguyen said they adjusted to the times by doing deliveries for most of 2020. When there were fewer restrictions, he said they utilized third-party services, such as Uber Eats and DoorDash, to sustain them.
Now, the teahouse still embodies a familial atmosphere, inviting Sugar Land residents to join one another to build community, Huy Nguyen said.
“It's a casual place,” he said. “People can get a drink, have conversation, play board games or break the ice.”
- 350 Promenade Way, Ste. 850, Sugar Land
- www.thecreameryteahouse.com
