Sitting under the nighttime hotspot of The Upstairs Pub resides a small boba kiosk window called Window 85. Its colorful sign and bright menu draw the eyes of passers-by, attracting them towards the storefront.
Smiling out the window of the shop is Kate Gao, as she hands drinks to waiting customers. Gao is the creator of the drink recipes and manager of the shop. The owner of Z & C Teriyaki and Sushi restaurant approached Gao with an opportunity to start the tea shop next door. She accepted and rented out the small space next to their store and became a junior partner with the business.
The shop offers a wide selection of sweet drinks like milk teas, coffee lattes and matcha.
“Sugar makes me happy,” Gao said. “Every day when I feel just like, ‘I’m depressed,’ I need sugar. A little bit of sugar makes me just feel okay.”
Gao said she believes other people around her also need something sweet in their lives.
Gao is the first and often only face you see when you order your drinks at the window since she is the only one who works at the shop most days. Customers can choose to order through an ordering kiosk or directly with Gao, though Gao said she still tries to talk to customers because she loves to chat with customers, sometimes even to the point where her voice starts to hurt.
Gao works at the storefront every day from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. — the shop’s hours. The interior of the store is about the size of a small food truck — about 6 feet by 12 feet — complete with a fridge full of a variety of milks, puddings and tapioca.
The exterior is quite simple, with signs and menus boasting the diverse array of drinks to try. Gao herself designed the iconography for the signage.
For the past six years, she has been finishing up her two master’s degrees, from the philosophy department at Beijing Normal University as well as a degree in the history and philosophy of science one from Indiana University which she received in December. She said she was glad to take a break from school and do something different.
“Yes, doing research is really fun,” Gao said. “But still, I want connection with people.”
Gao has already connected with a few returning customers like Anna Slavuk, an IU student who discovered Window 85 last week. She said Window 85 has a lot more options on their menu than other boba places in Bloomington.
“I'm from southern California, they pride themselves in really good boba,” Slavuk said. “When I saw this place open up, it felt almost like nostalgic of home.”
Thirty-two-year-old Gao is originally from Qiqihar, China, and moved to Bloomington in August 2022 with her husband.
After she got her master’s degree from IU last spring, she spent months developing the recipes for the drinks leading up to its grand opening Aug. 1.
“At the very first beginning, when I opened the shop, only just like one or two orders,” Gao said. “But now it’s good. Yeah, like I can have hundreds.”
First-time customer at Gao’s shop, Cassidy Crosby, a graduate student at IU’s English department said she’s had tea at other Bloomington shops, but Window 85 has been the best one so far.
“I have had a lot of subpar matcha in my life,” Crosby said, sipping her strawberry matcha tea. “But this is really, really good.”
Gao said that she wanted to someday own a chain of tea shops. She has created multiple business designs, planning her future in boba enterprise.
“I have big ambitions,” Gao said, pulling out a notepad that had various plans and shop names on it. “I want to have a chain.”
Though she works long hours, Gao said she loves coming home every night to her 2-year-old daughter, Pheonix. Gao said she hoped her entrepreneurial endeavors would help her be a strong female role model in her daughter’s.
“I still choose to be here, work here every day because I think my daughter, she needs a role model in the real life,” Gao said. “Not from a guy, but from a woman.”
