After working as a manufacturing engineer for more than 10 years and feeling unappreciated at his workplace, San Jose State alumnus Jay Tran
switched his craft to boba.

“I was at that point where I started to think maybe I should do something differently,” Tran said. “It doesn’t matter who judges you but it’s really up to me to say, ‘Am I doing the right thing or the wrong thing?’ ”

Tran said the judgement on his performance after years of experience felt unfair, so he decided to risk it all and quit his job to follow a different
passion: running his own business.

He opened Buddy Teahouse during fall of last year.

“Moving forward to 2018 and the beginning of 2018, I realized I had to look into some kind of business on my own so that any creative idea, I could implement it by myself,” Tran said.

He said he’d never considered being a restaurant owner, but he was inspired by his love for food and cooking.

As owner and manager of the teahouse, he felt more freedom in his work. 

After several months of construction and inspections, Tran, opened up shop next to San Jose State.

Tran graduated from SJSU in 2005 with a degree in electrical engineering. After working for years and starting a family in San Leandro, Tran decided to come back to San Jose and set up a  shop near his alma mater because of the admiration he has for the school. 

“I always had the feeling of being a part of San Jose State. No matter if I already graduated, it feels like coming home for me,” Tran said. 

The teahouse is a popular spot for students and is across the street from the dorms.

“[Jay’s] really nice. There’s a couple of people who came in yesterday and knew him by name,” Gina Meyer, political science freshman and employee, said. “They were like ‘What’s up Jay.’ He’s super inviting.”

Students at the shop said it’s also a convenient spot to get tea and study.

“I think it’s a good vibe,” microbiology freshman Iris Schmidt said. “It’s also not too loud or overwhelming like a Starbucks could be. The Philz Coffee down there is impossible to study at because it’s always so overwhelming.”

While he attended SJSU between 2000, Tran did not see many boba shops around the school. 

He said he loves being a part of the new wave of shops rising in popularity with students. 

Tran said starting his small business was a long, eight month process, risking that his business might not be a success. 

Turning his life upside down from being an electrical engineer to doing something entirely different, Tran said a lot of risks came with his decision. 

At the same time, he knew he could apply his previous experience into his new business endeavor. 

He said he enjoys coming back and serving the school because it’s his way of giving back to the student community and the school he has seen grow in quality over the last few years.

“I know that I have the talent of making a good drink, it was inside of me, making good food,” Tran said. “So no matter what I’m doing, I love cooking and I love to eat and being innovative in making a different kind of food.”

With many demographics and backgrounds of people he has to consider, he is always challenging himself to produce something new.

However, things have not always been easy for Tran. 

Tran said customers always fluctuate. He explained that the  store can be empty, but he always has to be ready for a wave of students to flow in like a tsunami.

Tran said it takes constant preparation to run the shop.  The work entails longer hours than his former nine-to-five job and that prospective business owners need to ready themselves financially, emotionally and mentally.

All of this has left little time for Tran to spend with his family.

“Sometimes my wife complains it’s not enough family time,” Tran said. “Without support, how can I have that kind of energy to keep running and keep improving Buddy Teahouse? We kind of split the work and she’s the backbone of the family.”

Building his business did not come without sacrifice. 

Despite this, he says he is continually open to learning and getting better. He wants to meet these challenges while also presenting himself as a role model to others like him who might want to veer off the conventional path.

“Everything starts with small things, and so a lot of things I had to do on my own,” he said. “But I believe in teamwork, if we all work together than we solve the challenges and problems that we might have.”