Boba Barista Rhiauna Sanchez Pours Good Vibes At Sweet Cupz

Sweet Cupz Cashier Rhiauna Sanchez finds the sweet balance between work and school.

When the Southern California-native first moved to San Francisco last year, she was looking for a job and stumbled upon the Ingleside bubble tea shop. The Sunset resident has worked there since January, handling the register and preparing the ingredients for the shop’s waffle-like specialty eggettes.

“For people that are looking for jobs or not sure which job to get at first, I think it’s a good starting position,” Sanchez said. “My manager’s not too strict. It’s helped me ease into the job a bit, and being a cashier, you get to interact with a lot of people everyday.”

Sanchez is a first-year student at the City College of San Francisco, where she plans to study architecture and eventually transfer to a four-year college like San Francisco State University to ultimately study interior design. But while she attends classes, she is happy to work at Sweet Cupz — her favorite drink is an iced Thai tea with creme brûlée foam — and connecting with customers.

“I like this shop,” Sanchez said. “I like to work in this area. There’s a lot of cool people that I meet that come from the school [and] a lot of regulars that come by, too.”

The Ingleside Light met with Sanchez to see what it’s like to work at the bubble tea shop.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What does a typical shift at Sweet Cupz like?

It depends if I have an opening or closing shift. If it’s an opening shift, I come in and turn on the lights and TVs. I clean a bit. If there’s anything to prep, I prep it. For the most part, it’s pretty chill. It doesn’t get too busy until a little bit later in the day. There’s a lot more stuff to do like washing dishes and more prep.

Do you have a favorite memory from working here?

There was this little kid who would always come in and comment on my makeup, if I was wearing any. I just thought it was so sweet.

Are there any insider secrets to working a boba shop or anything different from what you thought it would be like?

I think my perception of the job wasn’t as different as it is now. I was definitely a little bit more nervous. With jobs, at first or when you’re doing interviews, you’re more nervous so just to calm down a little bit. A lot of managers are just looking for something that’s ready to work, has good energy, since you interact with a lot of people.

What’s one piece of advice you have for someone who wants to enter a similar food service field?

Be ready to learn. None of the managers at any beginning job expect you to know everything but just be willing to cooperate in learning, gain more knowledge about the job. If they ask you to do something, be ready to learn something new.