After being informed about the hole in the wall store called Desi Food Mart, my little sister and I decided to check it out. The small shop offers smoothies, boba tea, all kinds of candy, prepared meals, and other snacks with everything under $3. While the building space is small the interior is very open and the environment is welcoming.
The shop was opened by Mukul Seth as a way to help connect the community. He believes teenagers these days have too much anxiety and don’t know how to properly connect with their peers, which is why his store is there. He offers a place for teenagers to hang out after school and socialize with their friends as well as meet new people. There is a Wii, an arcade game, two guitars, a keyboard, and a karaoke machine so anyone can enjoy themselves and have fun. He also plans on adding classes once a week to teach kids how to make apps and learn new things about their phones. Everything is priced under $3 because Mukul opened the store to help the community rather than for profit, he hopes to be able to open multiple stores across San Antonio in the future.
After enjoying a boba tea and chatting with the owner for 45 minutes I can confidently say that I will be returning with friends. Just being there relieved my stress and allowed me to comfortably talk to complete strangers. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking to relax, meet up with friends, or go to after a football game.
All photos by Jessica Harden.
