ByChae, the viral matcha brand run by 21-year-old Babson student David Chae, is jumping from pop-ups to its own short-term storefront on Newbury Street, betting that social media buzz can translate into a real-world line at the door. Chae has signed an eight-month lease for 222 Newbury St. and is aiming to open in mid to late July, treating the space as a high-stakes trial run for a potential permanent shop.
Short-Term Test On Newbury
As reported by The Boston Globe, the new cafe will sit beneath Dirty Water Dough Co. in a space the landlord is filling with an eight-month bridge lease between long-term tenants. The Globe notes that Chae has already staged well over 100 pop-ups and that fans have been willing to wait as long as two hours for one of his drinks. Babson professor Ab Igram told the paper, "This kid is amazing," praising Chae’s test-and-learn style as a sign of genuine market savvy.
ByChae’s Growth Engine
Chae started pouring matcha from a truck in the summer of 2025 and then, in December, took a leave of absence from Babson to focus fully on the brand, a move he says helped triple revenue. On his LinkedIn page, he points to collaborations with brands such as Free People and Aesop and credits ByChae’s rapid rise to a steady stream of pop-ups at universities, retailers and events. That track record has become a key selling point in conversations with landlords and wholesale partners as he ramps up inventory and operations.
Matcha Boom And Supply
Nationwide, matcha is having a moment. Sales climbed about 86 percent between 2022 and 2025, according to Nielsen IQ data reported by ABC News. Chae told The Boston Globe that he sources ceremonial-grade matcha directly from farms in Yame, Japan, and now orders more than 220 pounds a month. In an early deal, he wired roughly $8,000 to a supplier he had never met in person. For the Newbury Street experiment, he is aiming for about $100,000 in monthly sales while keeping ByChae’s pop-ups going around Boston and in Brooklyn and starting to offer tins of matcha for customers to brew at home.
What To Expect
Fans can expect the same playful, seasonal flavors that have driven ByChae’s pop-up buzz, including drinks like banana pudding, blueberry and hojicha cream, plus cold foams and occasional themed menus. Chae also plans to build a wholesale arm that supplies other cafés and to sell tins of ceremonial matcha at the counter for at-home use. If the eight-month run hits its targets, he has said he hopes to eventually land a permanent byChae location in the South End. For now, Newbury Street is his very public trial run.
