Bambu Desserts & Drinks will send your tastebuds into overdrive
Bambu Desserts & Drinks is located 45152 Ford Road in Canton.
If you’re thirsting for a fresh, exotic and nutritional alternative to everyday coffees, teas and smoothies, Bambu Desserts & Drinks is ready to please your off-the-charts cravings.
Located at 45152 Ford Road (just east of Canton Center Road), Bambu is a three-year-old business owned by Canton siblings Farooq, Bisma and Yumna Haque that offers a crazy-cool litany of menu items prepared with fresh ingredients onsite to send your tastebuds into overdrive.
“We’re a bubble tea shop first, but we have all sorts of fresh add-ins — all made in-house — including jellies and boba pearls,” said Bambu Manager Tristin McCloe. “We use as many natural ingredients as we can, which our customers appreciate.
“We were the first business of our kind in Canton. There have been others that have opened since, but our loyal customers tell us they like us best because they not only love our products, but they love the vibe of this place. It’s not a huge space, but it’s a happy, vibrant place. You can often hear our baristas singing in the back while they’re making the smoothies and teas.”
Sweet first impressions
When first-time customers step across Bambu’s threshold and eye the store’s bright menu, they often have a look of bewilderment on their faces when they see items like lychee jellies, popping and crystal bobas, McCloe said, smiling.
“I absolutely love being the one who greets these first-timers to Bambu because I’ve gotten really good at recommending drinks and desserts that I think they’ll like, even if they don’t recognize the names,” she said. “I really try to encourage them to try some of the less-known fruits — like lychee, for instance.”
Nine times out of 10, it’s love at first bite, McCloe said.
Bambu is a national franchise that has existing southeast-Michigan locations in Dearborn Heights and Ann Arbor, among others, with one scheduled to open soon in the Northville area.
They aim to please
The business’s aim-to-please mentality includes going off the menu to meet their customers’ demands.
“We have longtime customers who have made up their own smoothie recipes over time,” McChloe said. “For example, there’s one woman who has perfected her own recipe for a smoothie that’s not on our menu, so when I see her walking toward the door, I’ll head to the back to start mixing her special order.”
McChloe said the location of the Canton Bambu is perfect given its Ford Road address and its proximity to popular dining businesses.
“We’ll get people who eat at Szechuan (which is located in the same shopping plaza) who stop by our place after a meal,” she said. “They’re looking for something sweet after a nice meal and, although they may have never tried us, they leave with a dessert or drink and a smile on their face.”
Fresh perfection is the goal
McCloe said what makes Bambu’s to-die-for smoothies special are their fresh ingredients and the way the baristas add just a perfect blend of ice to “give them the frozen consistency of a shake.”
And Bambu’s quality-control standards are high.
“I tell our employees that they should prepare every drink and dessert as if a picture of it is going to be shared all over social media and as if it’s being made for the President of the United States,” McCloe said.
Close-knit staff
The majority of the business is staffed by 16-years-old and older high school students who attend school at the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park.
“A pretty high percentage of our customers are high school students,” McCloe said. “We’ll get students who walk in here all the time for the first time and they tell us they love the place,” she said. “A lot of them will ask us if we’re hiring. If we are, they say, ‘Sign me up!’
“What’s sad for me is when one of our employees graduates from high school and is heading off to college; I feel like a teacher who’s student is moving onto a new school. It’s really a family atmosphere in here.”
Giving back is important
Bambu proudly gives back to the communities its serves.
The Canton location regularly sets aside days — most often Fridays — when it will donate 20% of its sales to clubs at Plymouth-Canton Educational Park clubs.
Bambu works with popular delivery apps DoorDash and GrubHub — and offers an online ordering option.
To check out its menu and learn more about the one-of-a-kind eatery, visit its website here.
If you would like your business featured on SocialHouseNews.com, please contact Ed Wright at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
