Manchester café prepares to reopen seven months after tragedy

A Greater Manchester cafe is preparing to reopen seven months after a fatal bus crash at Piccadilly Gardens last year.

Emergency services swarmed Piccadilly Gardens in the aftermath of the collision on October 16, where the bus had shattered the front of T4, a bubble tea shop at City Tower.

A 77-year-old woman tragically died following the crash. Almena Amica, who was a pedestrian during the incident, was taken to hospital with serious injuries but later died.

READ MORE: Major Manchester city centre road closure with changes to Piccadilly Gardens trams

Almena, from south Manchester, was known as Mena to her family and friends. In a statement issued by Greater Manchester Police the following day, her family said: "Mena was dedicated to her family, friends and faith.

"She loved music, gardening, TV soaps and nature. She was the senior member of our family, the eldest sister and great-great-aunt. She was well-loved, our matriarch, and her presence will be hugely missed.

"Mena was a private person and her family asks that this be respected during our time of mourning. We thank all the services and people who came to her aid."

Eleven other people, both pedestrians and bus passengers, were either treated at the scene or in hospital for minor injuries following the collision. A 64-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He was subsequently bailed.

Several months on, the shop will now reopen, with customers able to visit again on Saturday, June 15. The shop, which is part of the T4 franchise started in Taiwan in 2004, specialises in bubble tea, with sites across the UK in locations including London, Liverpool and Nottingham.

Bubble tea, or boba tea as it is also known, is a Taiwanese recipe made by blending tea with milk, fruit and fruit juices. Tapioca pearls are then added and the drink shaken before being served.

Speaking ahead of the reopening tomorrow, Abby Cheng, a team leader at the Piccadilly branch, said the shop where the incident happened had only been operating for three and a half months at the time.

"There was only a few of us on shift at the time as it was before our busy period," she recalls. "I was looking after things in the kitchen, another staff member was looking after front-of-house and the owner was just checking in.

"We were so lucky, at the time we only had one customer in the shop at the time because it was not our busy period, which is after 2pm. Just before it happened I was serving this person a drink and finding out the Wi-Fi for them and then I returned to the kitchen because I could hear something back there.

"Then I heard to crash and I thought it was some form of attack. It was a loud bang, an explosive sound with all the glass and my colleagues were screaming.

"I remember seeing a bus in front of us and our customer was so scared, they were crying. We were so worried about them.

"Later, when the police came to collect the CCTV of the incident they told us that the customer was alright. We had no idea until then because we didn't have their contact details."

At the time, Abby and the team were not aware of what exactly had happened outside but she called the ambulance. "The shop next door told us it was very serious though.

"You don't expect something like that to happen, this sort of thing only happens on the news so it was very sad."

Abby added that they were not sure when the shop would be able to reopen as the emergency services and police investigated. "We thought maybe it would be 3-4 months, but there were a lot of procedures to follow."

During the wait, Abby and other staff members had to find other jobs. Abby worked full time in a casino in Chinatown up until recently. Now she, and the original team have all returned, some working part-time and other full-time.

The shop has been slightly updated to include another table for customers to sit in. Its menu is decided by the franchise but there have been some changes with some milk and almond teas taken off, larger tea options added, and new mango flavours introduced.

"In Taiwan, boba tea shops are very common, they are on every corner. People will mix up there tea bases so not just black tea, but flavoured tea like jasmine, Oolong or earl grey for example."

Abby says a popular choice is the Taro milk tea, made from a tropical plant native to Southeast Asia. The starchy root vegetable has a brown outer skin and a white flesh with purple specks. "It's kind of like sweet potato so it's a bit sweet in flavour," she explained.

When customers walk into the shop they will be greeted by a large menu, which breaks the bubble tea selection down into three steps - picking the type of tea, choosing how much ice and sweetness, and then adds on.

Teas from the bubble milk tea range encompasses options including French Pudding Milk, Caramel Pearl Milk Tea, Mango Fanatics, Grass Jelly and Oreo and Crystal Milk, but there's also special milk teas, 'cream crown', 'fruit magic', classic Taiwanese options and ice coolers. A green spot signifies a T4 recommendation, while a blue dot indicates whether it can only be served cold.

Next customers pick how much ice they would like according to a sliding scale, before deciding the sweetness percentage. Lastly, there's the option to select add on, which range from a savoury but almost aromatic grass jelly and aloe, to white pearls, green tea jelly, cream and pudding.

Prices range from £4.40 to £5 for the tea base, while the extras are available from 60p, and cream on top is priced at £1. Larger drinks are available for 60p extra.

Abby says that despite the challenges they have encountered and the tragic circumstances surrounding the closure of the shop, the team at T4 have worked hard to welcome customers back.

"We have been diligently working on rebuilding and refurbishing our premises to create an even better shopping experience for our valued customers."