LIFE & ARTS

ASTRID HERNANDEZ | MERCURY STAFF

Boba Blockage

Local businesses grapple with shortages caused by pandemic, Suez crisis

SOFIA BABOOL

Mercury Staff

Shipping delays are creating a country-wide boba shortage, making it a challenge for boba tea providers in the Richardson area to supply one of the most popular drinks today.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the bubble tea market was estimated to value $2.02 billion in 2019 and is projected to be valued at $3.39 billion by 2027. The increasing popularity of boba tea has skyrocketed demand, leaving many stores around the United States in vulnerable positions due to the pademic-induced labor shortage.

The Suez Canal blockade from March 23-29 caused immense shipment delays for many food products, including boba. According to Marketwatch, all shipments from Asia to the U.S. are currently being heavily delayed. Coupled with an increased labor shortage due to infected staff, boba delivery to local shops in Dallas such as “Boba Latte” in Richardson has been significantly slower. Even companies that have resorted to manufacturing their own boba, such as the “Boba Guys,” have also reported slower delivery times to local shops due to infected labor. Ramesh Subramoniam, a professor for operations management at UTD, said that the recent supply chain distribution disruption is not new.

“It’s been going on and last year it was very different because of the pandemic. In some cases, the end product itself can get stuck in the ports because of a labor shortage to process the backlog,” Subramoniam said. “Because we are importing more from other countries now, this isn’t a local problem anymore. Supply crises become demand crises. For example, in the Los Angeles area, our labor force isn’t showing up because they’re sick and that affects the supply chain.”

Finance and economics sophomore Kevin Choi, who works at Gong Cha in Carrollton, said that his first reaction was concern, wondering what the staff at the store would tell the customers if they ran out of boba.

“What I have noticed, though, is that our managers have been operating with a lower daily boba inventory. We usually have enough stockpile to last a whole week, but now we just have enough for two or three days, and there has been a noticeable increase in demand,” Choi said.

When UTD decided to close an extra week during spring break at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Terry Pham, founder and CEO of Fat Straws, said he knew he would have to make changes to ensure customers could still drink boba safely.

“It isn’t just boba – it’s even the boba supplies, like the cups. A lot of stuff for boba shops is manufactured in Taiwan, so what’s happened is that because of COVID, there is a shortage of workers who actually unload these containers,” Pham said. “We’re pretty lucky to be in a niche where we aren’t fine dining. Grab-and-go isn’t that far of a stretch.”

Although the national boba shortage has affected stores across the country, many students and customers like marketing junior Anika Kotaru have resorted to alternatives offered at those locations, such as “popping boba” or flavored jellies.

“There are lots of awesome alternative options, and I believe those small businesses deserve as much support as we can offer them right now,” Kotaru said. May 3, 2021 | The Mercury

‘I’m just glad I can check it off the bucket list: I did a game show’

Comet wins big on Wheel of Fortune

CALIS LIM

Mercury Staff

While some students might spend their Wednesday night at home watching TV, Christian Nevarez – an interdisciplinary studies junior – spent Wednesday, April 7 in the studio of Wheel of Fortune to be broadcasted on TV.

Once the pandemic hit and classes shifted online, Nevarez moved to California, where – in addition to taking classes – he is now pursuing a dance career and working as an EMT. With those commitments to balance, Nevarez said he didn’t exactly plan on being on a game show.

“I had actually never really watched Wheel of Fortune ever in my entire life. I’m not really a game show person,” Nevarez said.

The thought came to him last September when a friend was visiting for her birthday.

“Me and my friend were getting ready to go out and get drinks,” Nevarez said. “I had already been drinking a little bit, and I was watching this game show, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, that would be so fun to be on a game show. How do I do this?’ So, I Googled it.”

Later that day, he submitted a minute-long video introduction; two weeks later, he attended an interview process through Zoom. It wasn’t until months later that he was notified he’d gotten onto the show and that his appearance would take place the following week.

“It was super fast. I had to learn how to play the game – I had to look it up on my phone,” Nevarez said. “I was playing on the app trying to figure out how to play the game.”

On the day of shooting, the studio followed COVID-19 safety protocols, meaning there was no live studio audience. The staff was kind and the other contestants offered words of encouragement, Nevarez said.

In one round, Nevarez landed on the Express Wedge, where contestants can call out consonants and gain $1,000 per correct consonant. However, a missed consonant results in a Bankrupt, where the contestant loses all their money. By figuring out the phrase “It’s always what I’ve wanted,” Nevarez gained $6,000 and a trip to Mexico.

Although Nevarez said it was nerve-wracking to speak live on the show, he advanced far enough into the game to walk away with $17,000, which he will put to good use towards his career.

“I’m continuing to use that money to fur-

SEE GAME SHOW, PAGE 16

ANNA PHENGSAKMUEANG | PHOTO EDITOR Nevarez won $6,000 and a vacation during an Express round for guessing the phrase “It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

Brett Adelglass Aditya Agrawal Osayamen Aimuyo Talha Akram Josean Albelo-Cortes Yousef Alhamoudi Ali Alhaque Marques Allen Ken Armentrout Alexandra Arteaga Todd Baty Cecilia Bentley Manju Bhadesher Vishnu Bhemireddy Sina Bueckle Theodore Cackowski Debarati Chakrabarty Talissa Chapin Shajee Chaudhry Mayank Chetan Craig Cole Sarah Diesing Loretta Donaldson Brian Doupnik Haokun Du Satwik Dutta Hajira Elahi Nitya Eleti Charley Ford Kiyanoush Forough Rebecca Frederick Ashley Garber Negar Geramifard Debargha Ghosh Suprovo Ghosh Johnnie Gilder Raul Gonzalez Khaled Hallak Tyler Hanson Josephine Harras Syed Hasan Madelyn Hastings Alisa Hauser Jacob Henne Andrew Herring Byron Howard Long Huang Yuzhou Huang Lauren Hunter Jessica Ingle Regina Theresa Jordan Kaitlyn Judge Yun Ho Jung Nsanga Kabwe Melinda Kalanzis Sanya Kamra Keyvan Kasaian Vijay Kaundal Ziad Kharrat Francis Khuong Madison King Pratik Koppikar Toby Krakauer Ganz Kristin Kronenberger Ruba Kuzbari Elizabeth Labra Julia LaFond Taylor Lawson Ha Thu Le Sarah Lee Abigail Lewis Qianying Li Xintong Li Minh Truc Luong Catherine Lux Bruce Magness Biswajit Mahapatra Stephen Matthews Avirut Mehta Tina Melamed Darrah Merillat Yasir Mian Parsa Modareszadeh Pouya Modareszadeh Afza Mohammed Navnit Mohan Shah Otoshi Moni Jonathan Moore Samantha Moore Robert Musgraves Zara Nadir Zach Neiger Tuong-Vi Ngo Fan Ni Stephanie Oliver Bjoern Ollendike Justin Pate Hetal Patel Naman Patel Rhythm Patel Bhaash Pathak Kara Peak

The UT Dallas Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi wishes to recognize the following 153 undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty and staff who were recently inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest, largest, and most selective collegiate honor societyfor all academic disciplines. Congratulations on their outstanding achievements!

Jenica Pelayo Joy Peng Roger Philip Christopher Phillips Jamie Pierce Sonali Poudel Tahir Qasim Vijaya Ramreddy James Ramsey Vinay Rao Alekhya Ravilla Rithika Ravishankar Samantha Redig Cari Reinert Venkatraman Renganathan Abner Rincon Gunner RobisonSarah Romanko Julie Rooney Alyssa Rossen Aubrey Rowan Benjamin Rubarts Mandar Samant Mohammad Mahdi Samie Aliabadi Alexander Sanchez Estrada Angelica Sanjuan Bermudez Kannan Sharma Christopher Shatley Anja Sheppard William Shutze Ashley Simpson Sushmita Sinha Roy Paige Smith Pranavi Sreeramoju Kevin Su Pooja Suhagiya Sruthi Suresh Anish Talsania Vineeta Tanwani Richard Tett Narendra Tilwani Jessica Tinker Emily Tran Vivian Tran Veda Tsai Ruta Uttarkar Faith Vincent Michelle Vo Sophie Voss Hang Yang Abbas Zaki