Following the announcement of a corporate-owned location in Costa Mesa and a licensee for its upcoming Claremont and Lake Forest outposts, Shirley Shinn, the founder of pan-Asian-inspired dessert shop Nobibi, revealed that Kevin Liu will be the licensee behind its Eastvale store – slated to open at 4296 Hamner Ave this October – as well as a Fullerton spot that’ll open sometime next year.
What’s more, Liu is also in the process of establishing an investment group with some friends, which will spearhead five to 10 more locations across Southern California after Eastvale is up and running, the young entrepreneur told What Now Orange County.
Both locations are part and parcel of 20 stores that Shinn plans to open over the next three years – many of which will be owned and operated by licensees like Liu – including another three spread across Orange County; in Fountain Valley, Brea, and Costa Mesa.
Speaking to What Now Orange County’s sister site, What Now San Diego, Shinn explained that the Nobibi concept was “inspired by her travels across Asia,” and that she “wanted to bring the next-level desserts she tried in China and Taiwan back home to Southern California.”
Nobibi’s menu is an ambitious slate of “non-traditional” soft-serve ice creams, including the activated charcoal-infused Ninja, gold flake-encrusted D’Or, and Dream Cloud, which sees a dollop of soft serve floating atop a pillow of cotton candy.
Shinn said that the brand also offers healthier and more unexpected toppings.
“We like fresh fruit, freeze-dried fruit, we add brown sugar boba, or the popular Korean-style coffee mousse – a whipped coffee topping that’s like a thick foam and a nice contract to the sweet ice cream,” said Shinn.
Aside from its soft serve menu, Nobibi also whips up a variety of Asian-inspired beverages such as flavored sodas, blended milk frappes, fresh fruit teas, milk teas with roasted boba, and boba drinks topped with Dalgona coffee.
