A popular Raleigh boba shop is closing — sort of. Here are the details
A popular downtown Raleigh boba shop is moving on (mostly) from tea to make way for a new restaurant.
Under the same owners, Budacai Boba, Bar+Bites will rebrand as Amrut, a new Indian restaurant in the same space.
But don’t worry. Boba isn’t going away completely. There will still be a limited menu of boba fruit and milk teas for quick service ordering from the counter.
The biggest changes are the new name and a move away from Budacai’s southeast Asian food menu to focus more on Indian dishes. The restaurant will remain in its current space at 120 E. Martin St.
Amrut will soft-launch starting April 15, owner Sah Papolu said in a phone interview, with a more grand opening planned for the end of the month.
“We’re not closing completely, we’re just moving to a different name,” Papolu said. “We thought the area had more potential than just drinks and some fast food. And there were no options for Indian cuisine in that area.”
Budacai opened in 2019. Populu bought the restaurant late last year, operating it largely unchanged for the last three months.
News of the rebrand started to spread through Raleigh in late March, with a thread on Reddit popping up where fans shared their dismay over the possible closing of the boba shop.
The owners said the popular boba offerings will mostly stay the same, though the menu will be pared down.
Amrut will reopen as a full service Indian restaurant, including a full bar. The owners previously ran the Indian restaurants Tower and Paradise in Morrisville.
This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 12:23 PM with the headline "A popular Raleigh boba shop is closing — sort of. Here are the details."
