Mixue Ice Cream & Tea offers a variety of options, including soft-serve, fruit teas, and milk teas.
New Yorkers love fast food almost as much as they love a line worth posting. Into that landscape strolls a newcomer that's somehow bigger than the usual suspects: Mixue Ice Cream & Tea, the world's largest fast-food chain by store count, is opening its first U.S. location on Canal Street in Tribeca.
If the name's new to you, that tracks; abroad, Mixue's already everywhere from China to Thailand and Vietnam. The playbook is simple and wildly effective: soft-serve cones, fruit teas, classic milk tea, and chewy add-ins, all priced to fit your budget. It's the sort of menu that overly floods social feeds and happily empties wallets. Now it's test-driving that budget-friendly formula in a city where spending money on overpriced food and drink is very much a personality trait.
Why this moment? Because America's fast-food love story is only getting louder -- we literally just covered how West Virginia tops the nation for fast-food density -- and New York is where food trends go to be photographed. Mixue's arrival mashes up two things we do best: standing in lines and arguing about which line is worth it.
As for what to expect when doors open, picture a deliciously tight roster of swirls and sips such as mango teas, milk tea with boba, and those unfussy cones built for a one-handed selfie. U.S. pricing hasn't been disclosed, but the brand's calling card abroad is shockingly affordable treats that travel well (across sidewalks and onto For You Pages).
Bottom line: the city that never sleeps is about to get even sweeter. Clear a little space in your camera roll and your snack budget because Mixue's first American swirl is nearly here.