Yoka Tea is getting closer to opening its second location in Ballard at 5335 Ballard Ave NW.
Co-owners Marcellus Beza and Amy Park opened the first Korean and Filipino specialty cafe in Madrona in 2025. In May 2026, they announced plans to open in Ballard.
Just after they finished demolishing the former Little Tin, which closed in October 2025 after 10 years in Ballard, they hit a roadblock: The building wasn’t permitted for restaurant use, and it took eight months for permits to go through.
But now, the renovation is fully underway.
“I’m so excited because we’re finally seeing progress after eight months of paying rent and not being able to do anything with the space,” Beza said in an Instagram post on Oct. 6.
In the past week or so, Beza said they dealt with a flood in the cafe when a water heater upstairs “blew up” and leaked water through the ceiling. “That set us back a few weeks which is not good, but at least it’s repaired now,” he said.
Beza and Park started Yoka Tea several years ago as a pop-up. They both loved boba tea but told UW Magazine that they always wanted more Korean and Filipino flavors. Beza and Park began experimenting with a small menu using loose-leaf tea and took pre-orders and ran pop-ups to get started.
In the Instagram post, Beza opened up about some of the struggles of opening a second location.
“There are high expectations, and the funny thing is we’re just two human beings and genuine individuals who are trying to build out third spaces in a city where I feel genuinely like we need it,” he said.
“When there’s product that you’re serving or you’re selling, obviously you want it to be good, but I think living up to expectations is one of my biggest fears and worries, because we’re two owners with a lot of passion for what we do and we’re just excited to bring it to life, and we’re risking a lot to be here,” he said.
“But it feels right, as scary as it is, and we’re just taking it one day at a time.”
He added that focusing on building community has helped him overcome fears around living up to expectations.
“When we can partake in being behind bar, going out to other small businesses in the neighborhood, and introducing ourselves and having dinners with people also in our shoes and position…all those things are important to us. It keeps us inspired and it keeps us going, it fills the tank as much as we are tired and our schedules are busy, but I think partaking in community really helps a lot.”
Yoka hasn’t announced an opening date, but we’ll keep you posted.
Photo: Google Image Capture