A Popular cafe in a Carlisle shopping centre that specialises in bubble tea is celebrating its one-year anniversary.

REX BOBA is celebrating the milestone after initially opening in the Lanes Shopping Centre in the unit formerly occupied by Millie's Cookies in May 2023.

 The cafe offers local specialties such as bubble and milk teas as well as Milkshakes, Smoothies, and Coffee that accompany its Asian fusion hot food menu that includes ramen, dumplings, and bao buns. 

Speaking as the store celebrates completing its first year in the Lanes Shopping Centre, a spokesperson for REX BOBA expressed their delight at how Carlisle has embraced their 'unique' offerings.

They said: "We are so delighted to be celebrating our first year in The Lanes Shopping Centre.

"We want it to be special so on Thursday, May 30 at 11 am we are doing a scratch card giveaway to the first 100 customers with prizes being either a Polaroid Bluetooth Speaker worth £50, free drink, free Cookie, or free extra boba topping.

"People really have embraced our unique products from American-style cookie s’mores, mini mooncake pies also known as 'Hopia' little moons, and viral Samyang noodles but our mainstay is the vast variety and combinations of drinks with refreshing boba or fruit smoothies or our unique way of blending any of your chosen combination of chocolate bars into a unique delicious shake."

Despite marking their one-year milestone in the Lanes, REX BOBA has been a local favourite for approximately two years after initially featuring in the Market Hall and ever since has been richly supported by locals.

They said: "Although it’s our first birthday in the lanes REX BOBA will be turning two years old since first starting in the Market Hall.

"We are proud to be flying the flag for homegrown small business in Carlisle.

"We have been blown away with the support from our first-weekend pop-up shop to now."