RIPON, Calif. — A little more than a year ago, Archie and Sheroba Chu brought specialty boba tea to the small town of Ripon for the first time with sheBOBA's. It was a mom and pop operation that doubled as a way for Archie to share his experience in the restaurant business with his children.
"We have kids that go to school here and we want to be examples to them... like my mom and dad who followed the American Dream and created their own business and raised their kids through it," Archie told ABC10 nearly a year ago. "I want to give them that example as well.”
However, the slings and arrows of 2020, the coronavirus pandemic, and the accompanying lockdowns took their toll on the husband and wife duo.
During the lockdowns and pandemic, business slowed but insurance payments, rent payments and bills kept coming. Mid-pandemic, Sheroba Chu, the co-owner and mother of three, found herself asking, “What did we get ourselves into?”
“I was losing hope because I had been a stay-at-home mom for… 15 years - inside the house was my job. Opening the shop was a huge, huge move for me and being away from my kids, being away from home, being away from the house-mom life,” Sheroba said. “And then when the pandemic happened, I felt like it was a waste of time. We’re not making money where I’m working for free.”
In the beginning, they understood the call to restrict business operations. They were also worried about the virus and even the health of their parents and their community. But as days stretched into months and those months into a year, they grew frustrated.
As some fought over politics and information about the virus changed, the Chu’s were trying to navigate the waters, make sense of everything, and keep their business afloat.
“We didn’t know where we stand. Are we going to make it through the year? How is this going to affect - you know, financially, because we’re still paying rent. We still have to pay for supplies, so I was frustrated,” Sheroba said.
“We want to make sure people are safe. We don’t want to see anybody get sick unnecessarily, but you know, the original message was 15 days to slow the spread, then it became 15 weeks. Now, it’s almost 15 months,” Archie added.
The Chu’s cut the shop’s hours, cut employee hours, and limited their service. The family missed out on vacations, meal outings, and even seeing family. Even when federal aid in the form of the Paycheck Protection Program came around, they didn’t find help.
“Cutting my employees' hours down to the point where I haven’t seen them in weeks, it’s just because we can’t afford to pay them. That sucks. I feel like I’ve let them down,” Archie said.
The Chu’s had to balance keeping the new shop afloat, parenthood, and even filling a temporary role as “teacher” to their children due to distance learning.
“It wasn’t easy…Archie would be the teacher and I would run the shop and then we’d just try to find balance,” Sheroba said.
Outside the shop, life had to go on, albeit differently than normal. Their oldest son had his junior high graduation ceremony in 2020. Sheroba had once hoped to take photos of the milestone ceremony and of her son receiving a diploma on the big stage.
For the Chu’s and many others, it didn’t happen the way they always envisioned. It was a drive-thru graduation, where her son got his diploma in a car.
“They handed you your diploma as you drove away. It was very sad,” Archie said. “It’s supposed to be a milestone, and milestones get passed over without any fanfare. That’s unfortunate.”
While the ceremony itself wasn’t memorable in the way they hoped, Sheroba and other community members chose to make their own memory. It was a photo of her son’s graduating class, socially distanced and masked, to commemorate the once-in-a-lifetime graduation.
“When they go back like in high school or 10 years from now, that photo of them will bring them back,” Sheroba said.
For every hardship they fought, the Chu’s could be angry but they’re not. While they got frustrated at times, they never got angry. Because when the pandemic tried to push them down, the small town of Ripon came out in force to pick them up. Whether it be grants or patronage, Archie said their hometown had their back.
“They’ve been a blessing to us because they supported us through this entire pandemic,” Sheroba added. “I think without them, with their support, I wouldn’t know (if they would have made it).”
While business restrictions are still around, they aren’t what they once were, and the Chu’s can see light at the end of the tunnel. Looking ahead, Archie believes business could pick back up once the weather warms up and kids go back to school.
So, while the dream of opening up more sheBOBA’s are on the back burner, they’re still front of mind.
“We’re going to push forward. The way I kind of look at it is OK, well, we were delayed a year which is OK, and we’re just going to keep pushing forward,” Archie said.
He said it’s been a hard year, but he believes his family has come together through the struggle and the sacrifices.
“I think when our kids are older, I think they’ll say ‘yeah, mom and dad made it. It was a tough time, but we made it through. We stuck together as a family,'” Archie said.
