Tylers Bakery & Cafe brings bubble tea, kombucha on tap to Ligonier
Have you ever strolled the streets of Ligonier, thinking, “I could really go for a bubble tea right now”?
Until recently, you might have been out of luck — but now you can stroll up East Main Street to Tylers Bakery & Cafe to satisfy your craving.
The eatery specializes in bubble teas, offering both the boba and tapioca varieties. And in what might be another singularity for Ligonier, it also has kombucha on tap.
You can order your tea or kombucha to savor on its own, or to wash down a hoagie, wrap or fresh-baked cinnamon roll, cookie, brownie or other sweet treat.
Co-owners and spouses Ken and Julie Tyler opened the cafe in late December, offering limited hours until they get their feet under them. While both have food industry experience, this is their first foray into owning a restaurant.
Retro vibe
Currently, the cafe is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, but they hope to add another day to the schedule at some point, Julie said.
The decor and menu both have a retro vibe.
Enter the cafe located in the rear of the cedar shake building at 129 E. Main St. to be greeted by vivid yellow walls, bright graphics and a pair of ’60s plastic globe chairs. Past the counter is another seating area with a cozy mix of sofas, chairs, tables, decorative items and plants.
Boomers will chuckle at the names of the “hoagwiches” and wraps, with the “John Boy,” “Conehead” and “King Tut” recalling characters from television’s “The Waltons” and “Saturday Night Live.” There’s also a “Mary Hartman” chicken salad.
Julie Tyler said one young woman pointed to the “Roseannadanna” barbacoa wrap and not only didn’t get the “SNL” reference, but also said, “I don’t know how to pronounce that.”
She said the 8-inch hoagies come with “a lot of meat,” choice of bread, cheese, veggies and spreads and sell for $8. Wraps are folded into 6-inch tortillas handmade on site and sell for $3.50.
Bubble teas are built on flavored powders from Taiwan, including black tea, various fruits and taro, added to filtered water or a dairy or non-dairy milk product, shaken and topped with bubbles.
The Tylers buy their kombucha in small-batch kegs from Whalebird Kombucha, a brewer in San Luis Obispo, Calif. They currently have mango-guava flavored Manguava and Purple Rain, a blend of teas with chamomile, rose petals, spearmint and other flavorings.
Bubble teas and kombucha are served over ice in a 20-ounce cup for $4.
“I didn’t expect the bubble teas to take off like they have,” Julie Tyler said. “But, my word, they took off.”
Friendly town
Business is good so far, the Tylers said — on Jan. 8, it was almost too good. Julie said she came out of the kitchen to find a line of customers out of the door and her only other employee overwhelmed.
And then the bubble tea shaker exploded — four times.
“Oh, my gosh, it was horrible,” Julie said. “I said, ‘If you waited more than 15 minutes, your meal is free.’”
While there were two young women who got a little huffy, everyone insisted on paying for their food, she said.
Julie has a certificate in baking science from the American Institute of Baking and previously worked as a food safety auditor, traveling to food manufacturing plants around the United States. Ken worked in the distributing and delivery sector of the food industry.
She is a Maryland native, while Ken hails originally from upstate New York. The couple was living in California before moving to Ligonier.
“We lived all over, but we needed to get back to the East Coast,” Ken said, partly to be closer to Julie’s mother, a Pittsburgh native now living in the Laughlintown area.
“It was time to slow down, and we wanted a business that would work for us together,” Ken said. “We wanted a safe place, and Ligonier is very safe. It’s walkable and friendly.”
They started renovating the space in July.
“My vision for it was to feel like you were back in the ’70s,” Julie said. “People ask, ‘What is it — a bakery, a cafe, a coffee shop?’
“I say, it’s whatever you want to make it.”
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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