HODGDON, Maine — Sept. 18, 2024 — Randy Farrar, who owns several businesses in the county, sits in front of Corner Park, a new drive-thru restaurant still under construction in Hodgdon. (Kathleen Farren Tomaselli | Houlton Pioneer Times)
HODGDON, Maine — When Randy Farrar closed her tea and herb shop in downtown Houlton earlier this year, several customers said they missed her freshly brewed tea.
So she got her kitchen certified, had her well water tested, bought a larger vehicle with 40-slot cup holders and began delivering her specialty bubble tea to businesses and a few residential customers in Houlton.
“It just became so amazing,” said Farah, who isn’t sure how word spread, but said he’s now delivering more than 100 cups of iced tea a day.
Demand was so great that Mr Farrar decided to open a drive-through shop serving tea and coffee in nearby Hodgdon.
Boba, or bubble tea, is a Taiwanese recipe that mixes tea with milk, fruit, fruit juice and tapioca. But Farah uses popping pearls in her boba tea instead of tapioca because her customers prefer the popping pearls, she said.
“It’s a juice ball, you suck it through a straw and it pops in your mouth,” she said.
Farah is currently putting the finishing touches on Lundy’s Corner Park on Corner Road in Hodgdon, which he said is named after Central Perk, the famous fictional hangout spot featured in the sitcom “Friends.”
The drive-thru location will be open in the fall, winter and spring, and Farah will be serving bubble tea and chaga tea, as well as coffee, cappuccino and light fare like muffins and hot egg sandwiches.
The restaurant also has seating for about 20 people inside and is waiting to hear from the fire chief about final capacity, she said.
Farah walked down the teardrop-shaped drive-thru aisle on Wednesday, explaining what the facility will look like once it’s completed.
The building was Amish-built, and she and her husband, Tom Farrar, painted it a vibrant cobalt blue with white trim.
A white picket fence is in the works along the driveway, and they’re still figuring out how to display menu boards outdoors so they can withstand Maine winters.
Birch Bark Brew, a chaga tea blend that Farrar co-owns with Alyssa Hutchinson, will be sold at Corner Park along with other herbal products from Farrar’s Lotus & Leaf business.
Randi’s Corner Perk is expected to be open by Thanksgiving and will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Farah posted the drive-thru idea on Facebook to see if it would catch people’s attention.
“We’ve had a tremendous response,” she said, adding that some people don’t want to get out of their cars in the winter.
