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The Boba Shoppe in the Beaver Lodge at UMF offers milk teas, lemonades, smoothies, and energy drinks all customizable with flavor shots and boba. Submitted photo
16 different boba options as seen on Oct. 22 at the Boba Shoppe in the Beaver Lodge at the University of Maine at Farmington. Submitted photo

FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington [UMF] campus opened up its new Boba Shoppe this year.

Many bottles of flavored syrup are seen on Oct. 22 at the Boba Shoppe in the Beaver lodge at the University of Maine at Farmington. Leo Goddard/Franklin Journal

Currently, bubble tea can also be found at the Sabaidee Thai restaurant, but with 16 different types of boba to choose from and many flavored syrups, the Boba Shoppe is the first of its kind in Farmington.

The Boba Shoppe is located inside the Beaver Lodge at UMF and is open to the public. The menu includes iced milk teas, like Thai tea and taro tea, as well as lemonades and smoothies, all customizable with flavor syrups and boba. They also offer a customizable drink that they call a “surge,” which is an energy drink with a Red Bull base. All drinks start at $5 plus tax and upcharges are 89 cents.

The Boba Shoppe has a bar with stools for

A bar with stools as seen on Oct. 22 at the Boba Shoppe in the Beaver Lodge at the University of Maine at Farmington. Leo Goddard/Franklin Journal

customers to sit at and enjoy their bubble tea and there is also plenty of seating in the seating area of the Beaver Lodge.

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The Boba Shoppe is open seven days a week and follows the same hours as the Beaver Lodge, Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to midnight and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to midnight.

All food services at UMF are run by Sodexo. Tamra Hartley, Sodexo general manager at UMF, shared that sports games are shown on the TV screens in the Beaver Lodge on Sundays.

UMF Sodexo General Manager Tamra Hartley is seen demonstrating how to order chai with the new Starbucks coffee machine on Oct. 22 in the Beaver Lodge at the University of Maine at Farmington. Leo Goddard/Franklin Journal

Hartley also demonstrated how to use the new Starbucks coffee machine in the Beaver Lodge. The machine uses fresh coffee beans and espresso beans to make the drinks. Users simply press the buttons on the screen and place a cup below it. It can brew coffee and espresso for hot or cold drinks as well as hot chocolate and chai.

The Beaver Lodge offers a variety of food to order including breakfast foods, burgers, New York style hotdogs, quesadillas, and more. They sell snack foods and bottled drinks as well, featuring many local brands such as Little Lads Popcorn, Diggables Buckwheat Puffs, and Underdog, an energy drink recently created by University of New England students designed for student athletes.

From left, UMF third year student Linville McDonough of Bath places an order with Sodexo employee Abby Pease of Farmington on Oct. 22 at the University of Maine at Farmington Beaver Lodge in Farmington. Leo Goddard/Franklin Journal

The South Dining Hall is also open to the public for their All-You-Care-To-Eat buffet open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Breakfast costs $10.49, lunch is $13.49, and dinner is $15.49.

Hartley said that before COVID-19, common spaces on UMF campus such as the Beaver Lodge and Mantor Café were often filled with people. She said that groups of friends used to hang out with each other there, but that it was lost after COVID. Hartley wants to encourage the community to come hang out, especially young people.

“We need them back,” said Hartley. “We’re ready.”

Leo Goddard covers Farmington and some of its surrounding towns. He recently graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington with a BFA in Creative Writing. His passion for writing was strengthened...