Amanda Yordy introduces us to the fun little Boba shop that’s waking up Pulaski County with it’s Boba, Bold Coffee and Unique Bakery items. If you like your beverages strong, and your sleep schedule is optional, you will fall in love with Cafe Bobalina.
The Fort NOT Lost in the Woods Podcast is a production of O’Quinn Marketing. For guest or sponsor opportunities, email tracy@oquinnmarketing.com. This episode is sponsored by Nexthome Team Ellis, Security Bank of Pulaski County, TK’s Pizza in St. Robert and Sugarcreek Farms.
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**Interview**
Thank you for joining me for another episode of the Fort Not Lost in the Woods podcast. Today I have Amanda Yordy here with me. Amanda is the manager of one of the area’s newest hotspots. If you haven’t found it yet, you’re going to want to. And then you’re probably immediately going to be like, okay, this isn’t going to be good for the diet because it’s super amazing. Cafe Bōbalina. Amanda, thank you for coming in.
Amanda: Thank you for having me.
So the first time I ever went into Cafe Bōbalina, I was like, this place is different, you know, than anything else. And I’ve got to get them on the podcast. But I always hate walking up to someone I’ve never met before, and I don’t know why I’m like this, but I always hate walking up and especially to another business owner because I know how many sales people you get, I know how many people bug you all the time. And so I always hate to walk up and like, hi, I do a podcast, wanna be a guest? Because most of the time the guest will reach out to me, but sometimes if I’m in a place like Cafe Bōbalina that I’m like, this is a really cool place, they would make a great guest. I will ask. And I always dread it, but you were you were so friendly. Both of you. You and the owner were both so friendly and you’re like, yeah, I’d love to. Okay, and I’m right around the corner, so it worked out perfect. And you are an early morning person too. So that worked out well too because sometimes I try to schedule them and people like, well, what about in the evening? I’m like, oh no.
Amanda: No, that’s my personal time.
I am such a morning person. Yeah, exactly. I am such a morning person. But thank you so much for coming in and doing this. I really appreciate it.
Amanda: Oh, thank you.
So, Cafe Bōbalina, for somebody that hasn’t been in there, explain, because it’s so different. And I personally don’t even know what boba. I mean, I know what boba is. I know what I know that it’s these little weird beads that are in it. But I don’t know what it actually is. So, can you give me some information for those who haven’t been there about Cafe Bōbalina in general, what you guys offer?
Amanda: So the whole time I’ve been the manager there, I have been saying boba wrong. And the owner she corrected me the other day she’s like, you’re saying it wrong, it’s bōba. And I was like, yeah, bōba.
Oh, so I said it wrong too, didn’t I? But it’s okay.
Amanda: Yes.
Bōba. Okay, I learned from my granddaughter, so I’ll blame that on her.
Amanda: But bōba is um, like you said, they’re little beads and they start out as little nuggets. Like a um, yogurt nugget. And then uh, it takes about an hour to cook and then it softens up, it turns colors. And it has a brown sugar taste to it. So we put brown sugar and brown syrup in it and it cooks for about an hour.
So you actually make them?
Amanda: Yes.
I don’t know why that totally surprises me. I just assumed you just bought them. I don’t know.
Amanda: Oh, some people do.
I think how do you make how do you make bōba? That’s so crazy. I didn’t even know that.
Amanda: Yeah, you basically kinda cook it like pasta. It’s really delicate to cook. So it’ll burn easy. You got to, you know, stir it every five minutes while it’s cooking.
Almost like candy, huh?
Amanda: Yes. Yes. And it, yeah. And it has like a if I had to describe the texture it has, it would probably be close to Jello, although I wouldn’t classify it.
Well, that’s what it looks like to me, so that’s surprising to me that it kind of starts out hard. Now, do you have different flavors or?
Amanda: No, other shops may may do, but this yeah, it’s a tradi it’s the traditional bōba. So I mean, we do have the popping pearls and those come in different flavors and they burst with flavor in your mouth.
But you make your own, so.
So those are like two different things. See, I didn’t know this. Okay. Yes. The popping pearls. What is the history of bōba? I mean, do you know like where it where it comes from and anything about it?
Amanda: It’s a it’s a it’s part of the Vietnamese culture. I want to say. I could be wrong there, but I I’m pretty sure that it’s it’s a cultural thing for them. I do not know the history behind it. I’d never heard of it until I took this job opportunity.
Okay, gotcha. Okay. Really? How long ago was this? So that wasn’t very long ago because what day did they open, or you guys open?
Amanda: We I want to say we opened at the end of October, beginning of beginning of November.
Yeah, I thought it was just 2025.
Amanda: Uh, and I started working there probably at the beginning of December.
Well, I heard it a few years ago because my niece who lives in a larger city, she was in love with it and I thought, I’ve never heard of that. What is it? You know? Then I I started hearing about it more than my granddaughter was in love with it. And so I was but I still didn’t really know what it was. So that was interesting. Do you like it yourself?
Amanda: I do. It it is really good. The flavor is on point. So if you don’t like it, it’s usually 90% of the time people don’t like it because of the texture. And they, you know, so, you know, it just depends on
Oh, okay. See, that’s me and mushrooms.
Amanda: Oh, I used to be that way. I can only do fresh mushrooms. I can’t do the canned ones.
I can do some mushrooms now if I don’t think about it.
Amanda: Oh.
Did you ever have any any experience in a place like that before? I want to say a coffee shop. It’s not really a coffee shop, but it kind of is, which I want to get into that too. But you know, what is your background? What kind of experience did you come from and how did you decide to get involved with this?
Amanda: I started when I was 19. I became a restaurant manager at a really young age. I just was natural at it. So I I did that for a while and then I went back to college, got my degree and uh, started working in the healthcare field. So I worked for a non-profit organization based out of Texas for about 10 years. And that job ended a couple weeks before I started uh, working at the Cafe Bōbalina.
So are you from this area?
Amanda: No, I’m not.
You just mentioned Texas, so I assumed not, but.
Amanda: I’m actually from Florida, but I lived most of my life in Texas. And then my sister and brother-in-law are retired military. So I came up here to be closer to them. So I’ve been here about a year and a half I’d say.
Oh, okay. I’m always interested to find out how people end up here. You know, we just assume it’s a military type, but sometimes it’s not. And then and even if it is, the stories are always really interesting, you know, how people end up here. So had you ever visited the area before you moved here?
Amanda: Oh, yes. So my sister and them have lived here, probably right at 10 years now. And every year we have this Christmas tradition where I would either me and my kids would come up here for Christmas or they would come down to Texas for Christmas and we swap years. And then I would come up here during my vacation time and so I come up here two or three times a year.
What kind of things do you do for fun?
Amanda: Oh, well, I like woodworking, so I yes. So I like to do projects. I like to do remodel projects.
What? Really?
Oh, I always find it so interesting. And I know I’m hey, I’m a women’s lib person, but I always because I’m not that way. I always find it so interesting when you have these kick-ass women that are just like remodeling houses and building things because I’m so jealous. I think that is such a cool skill to have and it’s just not I there’s no way. I just could not do it.
Amanda: I I all the credit to my dad. My dad taught me a lot of things. I think I first picked up yeah. Ever since like six years old when I first picked up a hammer.
Yeah.
Wow, that’s so cool. That is a skill that I wish I had. I’d probably just injure myself. I’m telling you.
Amanda: It’s a lot easier than it looks.
So that so you do that for fun, though?
Amanda: Mm. Yes.
That’s cool. Yeah. Do you make stuff? What what do you make?
Amanda: I do. I can make anything. Uh, well, I wouldn’t say anything, but I mean, I can make noodle boards. I’ve been working on a project at my sister’s house and it’s unfinished. Um, she’s probably not liking me for that, but she knows I’ll finish it. But I’m doing a crown molding on her staircase to follow it down. So I got one side done and then I still got the other half to do.
Okay. That’s so cool.
So, Cafe Bōbalina, tell me about the owner.
Amanda: The owner, her name is Hoa. Some people know her as Wall. I met her. She owns another business outside of Rome. She’s a nail technician, so she owns her own uh, business there. That’s how I met her shortly after I moved here actually. She has a military background, her ex-husband has a military background.
Oh, gotcha. So that’s how she ended up here. Yeah.
Amanda: Um yeah. Yeah, and then she told me last year that she was wanting to open up this shop. And she didn’t know what she was going to name it at that time. She just knew she had an idea. Next thing I know, I go in there to get my nails done and she had it opened and she knew I’d quit my job and she was like, do you want to come be my manager? I was like, well, okay.
I love that. So do you like it?
Amanda: Let’s do this. I do like it. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere. I’m looking forward to when the warmer weather picks up because I’m assuming business is going to pick up because a lot of our drinks are cold drinks. I mean, we do offer hot ones as well, but they’re not as popular as the cold ones. So I’m looking forward to that fast pace. I like fast pace.
Right. It makes things go by quicker, it’s more fun. Well, I’ve been in a couple of times and both times you were packed. What I have noticed, and I’m the worst about this because I knew nothing about any of the drinks that you have or anything. And I’m a coffee girl. I mean, I could I could drink coffee all day, every day. I have to stop myself or I won’t sleep at night. Um, but I love my coffee. So that was my first question is like, okay, I don’t know what to order here. And you had now, tell me if I’m saying this right, you have Viet, is that the right way to say it? Is Viet coffee? Is it? Okay, so you asked me, okay, well, what do you like? And I’ve heard you ask other people in there that. So I think that’s so interesting because you have the patience and the personality and the people skills to be like, all right, let me help you find your thing, you know. It was so good. What you served me was amazing. In fact, I think I came back a day or two later. It’s so different, though. The coffee is so incredibly strong. But it’s still got this really good coffee flavor. ‘Cause I’ve tried different coffees like the white coffee and different things that are so strong, but they don’t really taste like coffee and I actually love the coffee flavor. Some people say, I just drink coffee to wake up, I don’t really like the flavor, but I love it. So when you have some of the coffee shops and stuff that are, you know, they’re really serving more of powdered drinks and things like that. And I I just, yes, they taste good. They’re nice and sweet, yummy, but I like that coffee flavor. So I was impressed because it was so strong. In fact, I had to drink it very slowly because I was like, whoa, this is strong. What makes the coffee so different? What what is the difference in that and just, I guess you’d say traditional coffee?
Amanda: So a lot of her ingredients she imports. So, so it’s I mean, it’s authentic Vietnamese coffee. Yes, and she makes it she has a recipe that we follow. So we make it um, whenever we’re running low, you know, of course, you know, restocking. I can’t give away her proprietary information.
Oh, okay. Yeah. No, don’t do that. We don’t want to get in trouble.
Amanda: But I will I always try to tell people the best way to explain Viet coffee is that it it more aligns with espresso taste. Um, that’s why it’s so strong.
Really strong espresso. But it’s also delicious and creamy at the same Yes. Yeah, it’s really good. If you don’t is there anything that they can do if if someone says, well, I don’t like that super strong taste. I mean, is there anything like do you do?
Amanda: Yes, we can modify any of the drinks pretty much except for the base ingredient. Sometimes the base ingredients are pre-made like our milk teas, but for the Viet coffee if someone didn’t want it that strong, I would, if it were me, I would offer to mix it with milk and I would, you know, and ask them if they want it served hot or cold because the Viet coffee can be served hot. I mean, automatically comes served over ice, but.
I loved it. My favorite thing right now, and and I don’t know how I didn’t find this a million years ago is cold foam. I was never a big fan of whip, but cold foam, I love it. And you have a bunch of flavors of cold foam.
Amanda: Yes, we do. And that’s something else I would recommend to someone who wanted to weaken the flavor or the strength of the coffee flavor, if you will, is to get a cold foam topping. And my favorite is the salted cold foam because it’s sweet and salty. And then we have the strawberry cold foam and I think that’s a really great touch because if you stir it around in your drink, it becomes a creamy taste, it’s really it’s different.
Yeah. I think that’s the one I got last time I went. The first time I got the crème brûlée.
Amanda: Oh, yes.
Oh, so good, so good, so good. So do you drink, I’m always curious about people that work at and I know you guys aren’t just a coffee shop, but coffee shops, do you drink the product every day or you know, sometimes when you work someplace, you don’t really partake in it very much.
Amanda: Yeah, I don’t. I do try like every time Hoa, she’ll create new recipes pretty much every week and she’ll make a drink and I’ll taste it, but I can’t drink a whole one because I definitely am one to watch my sugar intake. And so I I do taste it because I need to know what they taste like, so I can explain it to people. But if I do, most of the time I get the peach passion fruit tea. That’s my favorite. And I get with the mango popping pearls at the bottom, so it’s kind of like peach and mango, but I like the refresher drinks.
Tell me about the milk teas, because that is something I have literally never tried.
Amanda: So the milk teas, it sounds so strange when you hear it and you don’t really know a lot about it. You’re like, hmm, you know? ‘Cause when I think of tea, I don’t think about putting milk in it.
Right, right. Every Brit out there that’s listening to this is going, what? That’s what they’re going, what?
Amanda: But so um, our milk tea drinks we do have it’s a milk tea and she brews it she creates the tea bags, we put them in those, what are those cloths that you use when you’re
I know what you’re talking about, but I don’t like they’re kind of like cheesecloth, but I don’t know if that’s what it’s called, but
Amanda: But yeah.
I actually have some of those with some loose tea, so yeah.
Amanda: So she makes the little mixture of that and we and she steeps it for a while and then um, it gets mixed with other ingredients. But when you’re drinking it, you don’t think of it as being tea.
Really?
Amanda: Yeah, you you think that you’re drinking a flavored milk. It’s not as thick as milk.
Okay, I’m going to have to try it. I have been scared to do it, but the last time I was in there someone had one and it looked so good. And I thought, okay, I’m going to try this. Does it have a lot of caffeine or no?
Amanda: It I would say it has a the same amount of caffeine as a regular glass of tea.
I’m totally fueled by caffeine.
Amanda: I mean, it it would you would you can’t taste the caffeine. It’s not a distinctive flavor inside it.
Right. But it’s there.
Amanda: Yes. And we do have a couple of milk teas that are very popular, not just popular where people order them a lot, but they come back and get the same drink.
Tell me about your most popular ones.
Amanda: I would say the strawberry milk tea is a number one seller. Um, we have a banana milk tea that’s popular among the kids. Um, and it smells so good when I’m making it. Yes, I cannot it’s it’s like it makes me want one.
Really?
Yeah.
Amanda: And I’m like, uh, but I don’t, but, um,
That would be the danger for me. Like, oh, this smells so good. I’m going to have to have one or three of these.
Amanda: Yes.
The couple times that I was in, both times I saw someone with some type of an Oreo drink. I don’t know what it was, but it looked amazing.
Amanda: Okay, so was it a purple drink with Oreo top? Okay, so we do have our Taro blend and I always tell people it tastes like Oreo. I tasted it and it it does taste like an Oreo. And it’s purple, which if you’ve never been to a place like that, that would probably steer you away. You’re probably like
Yes. I thought it was really pretty.
Amanda: Yes, they all no, she makes them all the way she layers the drinks. It’s so it’s just you don’t even want to drink it.
Like art, yeah.
Amanda: Yeah, you just like you just want to stare at it. Um, but the that’s another popular drink is the uh, Taro milk tea and the Taro blend, that’s a frozen drink. So um, like a Frappuccino style, but it definitely has a Oreo flavor to it. So if you’re a dessert drinker type person, that would be one that you would want to get.
Okay. Yeah. Well, speaking of that, we’re going to take a quick break, but when we come back, I want to ask you about some of the desserts that you have because holy cow. Um, the one I had I my my mouth is watering right now just thinking about it. And I I saw a whole bunch more that I haven’t tried and I’m going to try not to, but I don’t know. Anyway, when we come back, we’re going to talk about what else you have at Cafe Bōbalina. Is that the right way to say it? Do you say it like?
Amanda: Bōbalina.
The way you said bōba. That’s what I’ve Bōbalina. I can’t do it.
Amanda: I know, it’s hard to put in a Bōbalina.
Bōbalina. There you go. Bōbalina. Okay. I’m going to get that down. We’ll be right back with Amanda Yordy from Cafe Bōbalina in just a minute.
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**Interview Resumes**
Back with Amanda, the manager of Cafe Bōbalina. Bōbalina. I’m just you just get put the emphasis on the right syllable. Bōbalina. Bōbalina. I’m going to I’m going to get this down. I’m going to get this down. So I noticed you have quite a few bakery items in there. So it was one of those days where I had my granddaughter with me and we decided we were just going to not worry about. We were just going to go all out. We’re going to split a dessert or I don’t know if you call it a dessert, but for me it was a dessert because I don’t get treats like that very often. And we got, I hope I say this right. We got the well, it was a chaffle, is that right?
Amanda: Croffle.
Croffle, croffle. And it was it had the what are those cookies called that everyone’s insane over right now?
Amanda: Biscoff.
Yes, the Biscoff. Oh my gosh. And you guys made it fresh right there and we were just going to share it. So we got two forks and the first bite, I know she saw my face and she goes, what? And I said, oh my gosh. I said, this is it’s like a it’s like a waffle, but not because it’s so much better and it’s so amazing. It almost just melted in my mouth. And so then she says, you know, she can see the look on my face like, I better start eating right now because she’s going to eat this whole thing. And so we we scarfed it down. It was so delicious. So what is a croffle?
Amanda: So we take a croissant and we put it in
A croissant?
Amanda: Yes, and we put it in
I knew it was buttery. It was so buttery and delicious.
Amanda: And we put it in the waffle iron and um until it’s golden brown and then we whatever flavor you get, whether you get the Biscoff, we top it with the the whipped cream. And it’s not well, it’s not really whipped cream. It’s more like a pastry whipped cream like you would use for a cake.
Yeah. It’s very rich and delicious.
Amanda: It is. And then like you got the Biscoff one, so we put the Biscoff drizzle on it and then the Biscoff cookie on top of it. Um, the Biscoff is a popular one and the our next popular one is the blueberry banana. So that comes with fresh bananas and fresh blueberries on it and then we do a honey drizzle on top of that.
Oh my gosh. If you’re listening to this and you’re just thinking that sounds amazing, it is. Um, you just can’t even believe it. So that makes a lot of sense that it’s a croissant because I really thought that you had some kind of special batter that wasn’t quite waffle batter, but similar because that’s kind of what it’s like. But it was just better. And I couldn’t figure out in my head how you did that. That makes total sense because it was so buttery and almost melted in your mouth. So.
Amanda: I always tell people it it takes the shape and the flavor of a waffle pretty much, but it’s a lot more it’s lighter and airy, very like a flaky taste. Like you said buttery, it just it just dissolves in your mouth. You don’t even have to chew probably.
So, so, so good. Delicious. And I noticed you had a bakery case with a lot of other things. So what other items do you have for those with a sweet tooth?
Amanda: So we have red velvet cake. We have a Oreo mousse cake. Um, we also have a soft cream cheesecake. And then um, we have our rolls. So I always explain to people the classic roll, the strawberry roll, the pistachio blend rolls. Those are more like a, you know those little Debbie Swiss rolls you get.
Yes, unfortunately, I do know all about those.
Amanda: It’s kind of like that but it doesn’t have the outer coating of chocolate, you know, or it just it’s kind of like Angel food cake with this the flavored cream inside of it. And so those are really good too.
Do a lot of the items that you have have like a a Vietnamese background? I mean, is where did she get the idea for? Because the things that I see there, I never have seen anywhere else. Besides maybe some of the bōba, but or some of the what did you call them? Like the popping pearls things. What are those are called? So I’ve seen that, but I’ve never seen some of these items. It was really unique. And that’s why I wanted to have you in because this podcast is about the people and places that make this area special and show that we are not, in fact, lost in the woods. And I just think it’s a super cool addition to our little community. So did a lot of the things that you have on the menu and the things that you offer, do they have a Vietnamese background or?
Amanda: I believe the croffle and the uh cake rolls are part of their culture. The rest of them not so much. Um, I think she just added those to contribute to the selection. But I will tell you that some of our drinks had tiramisu cake on top and she would make the tiramisu cake by scratch right there in the shop.
Oh my gosh.
Amanda: So we don’t sell those drinks anymore because they didn’t get ordered enough, but she’s going to continue making the tiramisu cake and start offering that as part of the desserts.
You know, I almost hate that you’re only you’re literally around the corner from me because I’m sitting As you’re talking and thinking, I’m going, I need to get a good personal trainer because it’s going to be a long summer.
Amanda: Yeah, I always tell her when she wants me to try a drink, I’m like, Hoa, you know I’m going to spend 30 minutes on the treadmill to work this off.
Yeah, I know. It’s so delicious. Everything’s so delicious. On that note, do you have any sugar-free syrups and things like that or no?
Amanda: No, we don’t. But a lot of our drinks we can reduce the sugar by 50%. Um, so we can do 100% all of our uh, recipes are 100% whatever volume it’s at and then we can go to 75% less sugar or 75% or 50%.
Well, this is just my opinion. I actually got on a big kick doing all the skinny syrups and making stuff at home. And I like them. They taste good, but they reaked havoc on my body. My joints were hurting, every my muscles were hurting. I wasn’t losing any weight at all. In fact, I gained some and I could not figure out what was going on. And I started researching them and for a lot of us, now I know some people they don’t bother at all, but for a lot of us, my body just can’t handle it. It doesn’t know what to do with that. It’s a for ’cause the ones that I drink were sucralose, which is the skinny syrups and stuff like that. And so after researching a lot of that and talking to my doctor, she said, you know, you’re better off just either using something like pure maple syrup, honey, or just use whatever syrup you want to use that’s not sugar-free, real, you know, syrup, but just cut it way, way down. And I started doing that. I’m like, yeah, I didn’t need all of that, you know, I didn’t need all of that. So I don’t know. I had to get off the skinny syrups and I feel 100% better since I did, but I know a lot of people can do those, but I bet your drinks though are so tasty with just even cutting that syrup, you know, way down.
Amanda: I had a mother and daughter came the other day. I want to say it was the same day that I saw you in there last, um, just came in after and they did a 50% sugar. And I said, if that’s too less, like if you don’t, you know, I can add more to it.
I love that you’re like that. I’ve heard you talk to people in there like that. Because some of us just don’t know what to do when you you get in there and you don’t have a background with a lot of these things. So you’re like, okay. Things are expensive these days. I don’t I don’t want to spend this much money and then not like it or whatever. And I’ve heard you tell several customers myself included, hey, taste that and see if you like it, you know, let me know if you want something, you know. And I think that’s I love mom and pops because of that reason. I love places that are individually owned, family owned, you know, locally owned because that’s where my heart’s at because that’s what you get is you get that kind of service. You’re not going to get that at some of the other places.
Amanda: I always try to be as personal as possible. And I’ll never want someone to walk out with to pay $10 for a drink, not that all of our drinks are $10, you know, $6 to $10. But if you’re in I don’t want you to walk out and not like it, you know? And I’m going to when we get a lot of first-timers coming there and they don’t know what to order, you’re right, I do. I I’m like, well, tell me what you normally like. Do you visit, do you frequent Starbucks or do you frequent uh frequent Scooters? And I what do you normally get there?
Right. ‘Cause if you know what they like there, then you’re going to know what to compare it to. Yeah, I love that too because some of us, you know, I I try to cut back on, I make do a lot of my coffee at home. I have a coffee bar here at the studio and I actually try to do a lot of it myself. I might actually buy a coffee once or twice a week. So for me, I look forward to that. And if I get that coffee and then I’m just like, oh, I don’t know if this is a let down. I’m like, okay, well, I guess next week I’ll get something different. So I love that you do that. But that is one of my favorite things about small businesses. So you’ve you’ve been working there since about December. You just kind of got offered the job and said, okay. Any regrets? Do you love it? What do you think?
Amanda: No regrets. No regrets. I do love it. I’m I love interacting with people. Um, and I love that everyone that comes in. We we live in a really great community I think because everybody is really kind and respectful. It really takes a lot to pull that out of someone or pull the opposite out of someone. Uh very rarely. I don’t think I’ve had a rude customer come in there yet.
Isn’t that wonderful? We really do have some very nice people in this area. I’ve heard people that are from elsewhere say that. I have some pretty deep roots around here. So I’m pretty, you know, pretty used to it. And I don’t really notice it until I go somewhere else. So like the opposite. And um, we do have some really great folks in this area. And again, another reason I wanted to do this podcast just to showcase the area and highlight it and say, hey, look, we’re a pretty cool place.
Amanda: Yes.
We kind of like it here. New things on the horizon. You talked about the Tiramisu and you do have a couple tables outside. I noticed so whenever the weather does get a little bit nicer, that’ll be great this summer.
Amanda: Yes.
What are your hours over there?
Amanda: So we actually just updated our hours at the beginning of February. We are 9:00 to 7:00 Monday through Friday. I want to say 10:00 to 5:00 on Saturday and maybe 10:00 to 7:00 on Sunday. I can’t remember. I’m usually off on the weekends. So I
Oh, okay. I started to say I better leave out of here so you don’t get in trouble.
Amanda: No, you’re good. Thank you for having me.
It is hard to remember when you’re not the one there, isn’t it? But you’re open seven days a week. That’s super cool. That’s awesome.
Amanda: We we initially started out being closed on Mondays decided to open up on Mondays ’cause we heard that the bōba shop, the bōba shop on base was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays I think. I can’t remember. So we decided to expand that that extra day ’cause I mean, if we’re going to pay for our leases and include that, we might as well earn the business.
Perfect. So one of my favorite things about Cafe Bōbalina is not even not even that amazing croffle, not even that amazing Viet coffee, but the Pac-Man machine. I am such a Pac-Man is my favorite thing in the whole world. And the exact machine that you have in there, I’ve wanted one of those for so long, but I know I would not get anything done. So when I walked in and saw that, I’m like, yeah, new favorite place. This is great. And I had some paperwork to do the other day so I brought my grandson and let him play the Pac-Man machine while I drank my coffee and did paperwork. And it was wonderful. So now he’ll say, look, that’s my new favorite place, Cafe Bōbalina. He can’t quite say the name yet, but he’s getting there. Well, Amanda, thank you so much. You know, we didn’t even mention where you guys are located. I said you’re around the corner from the studio, most people don’t even know where my studio is. So that’s just a big mystery. Tell everybody where Cafe Bōbalina is.
Amanda: We are in the same shopping plaza as the cosmetology school, right next to the O’Reilly’s.
Yeah. Spartans is over there. All of us that are from around the area and have been here a while call it the Lower Mini Mall. But I said that one day and some young person said, what are you talking about? And I’m like, you know, the upper and lower Mini Mall and they were so confused, but that’s what we’ve always called it. But yes, the cosmetology school Spartans in there, lots of things are in there, so great location, right across from TK’s Pizza, which I love too. So it’s like right there, very convenient. Well, Amanda, thank you for doing this and thank you for being so sweet when I total stranger just walks up to you and goes, hey, I got a podcast, you want to be on it? And you’re like, sure.
Amanda: You’re welcome.
I appreciate it.
Amanda: You remind me of my sister. She’s the same way, she doesn’t like approaching people.
I hate approaching. I love talking to people and hearing their stories, love it. But I hate just approaching them. And it takes a lot for me to do that and I don’t do it a lot. Thank goodness, I don’t really have to. Most people now that the podcast has been going a while, they’ll they’ll email or call and say, hey, I I would like to be a guest or I know somebody that would like to be a guest, which is great. And there’s a business in town that I wasn’t sure about this place and I really I don’t have to, you know, approve of something or anything like that. But I do want to know that the person I’m giving airtime to is a good person, a nice person, has the community’s best interest at heart. And so I’ve been kind of watching this place that I thought was interesting and I’m like, finally I’ve in my head, I’m like, yes, I want to get them in here and get them on the podcast. Like I I’ve made this decision and I walk in there and I ask them to be on the podcast, and I don’t think anyone has ever told me no before and they said, no, thank you.
Wow. And after I worked up the nerve. I was just like, wait, what?
Amanda: That is their loss.
That is their loss. Well, I’m I was it well, it’s funny because it’s I don’t have much of an ego, but what I did have that day was a little bit crushed. I was like, oh, okay. But because I don’t think since I’ve sta I’ve been really blessed. I don’t think since I started the podcast, anyone’s ever said no. One lady, one we were going to tell a very personal story and she wasn’t quite ready to tell it and she still hasn’t but she still wants to do it. But other than her, I’ve never no one’s ever and they’re just like, no, thank you. And I was like, oh, all right. It’s like, what do you do with that? You were expecting that. I I wasn’t but I was like, okay. And then in my head, I was like, you know, it probably wasn’t a good fit for that to happen because I really do want to focus on the positive side of things because Lord knows we have enough negativity in the whole wide world.
Amanda: Absolutely.
And that’s the whole reason I love the name Fort Not Lost in the Woods because we’re so not. We may be small, we may be rural, we may be a little remote, but we are so not lost. So and new businesses like Cafe Bōbalina absolutely prove that. So Amanda, thank you so much. I I greatly appreciate your time. You’re working in today. You gotta get to work, huh?
Amanda: Yes, I I do later this evening.
Oh, okay. I started to say I better leave out of here so you don’t get in trouble.
Amanda: No, you’re good. Thank you for having me.
You’re welcome. Thank you so much.