Indeed, the oldest Dairy Queen in Miami (ostensibly built in 1954 and opened as a franchised DQ in 1989) closed roughly a year ago in February 2023. True Miamians all have gut-punching nostalgia of visiting that acute, two-story, triangular, club sandwich-like “restaurant,” ordering soft serve ice cream, and eating it in the car that was parked on a 45-degree-slanted parking space with parents or friends. It was the last DQ to accept only cash, and its manager hand-wrote each bill on a piece of paper. (Also, the rumor I heard my entire life was that the owner and his family all lived in that narrow second floor of the building).
The old Dairy Queen in 2010 on South Dixie Highway served families and residents for generations.
Photo by Paul W., Yelp Elite
Say Tea & Smile has moved into the space to offer plenty to satisfy your sweet tooth with one hundred homemade boba teas, specialty coffees, savory and sweet pastries, and even some ice cream to pay homage to that ancient plot. “I know this building was here before everything else,” Say Tea & Smile owner Natalia tells New Times. “This building is important to the city and locals who came here with their parents and grandparents. It’s huge to be here.”
The South Dixie Highway location opened about two months ago in February 2024 and is the third Say Tea & Smile shop in Miami, with its original location in Coral Gables (86 Miracle Mile) and Kendall (4001 SW 152nd Ave.). “I was so interested seeing what you can do with boba tea,” says Natalia. “You have millions of options. I got passionate about it and decided to investigate.”
Natalia, her husband Agustín, and her children moved to Miami from Argentina after the initial lockdown during the pandemic, looking for a new start and to spend more time with her brother, who lives in Miami. While she owned clothing boutiques for twenty years in Argentina, a fortuitous call from her husband Agustín changed her trajectory.
“The first time I heard about boba, my husband Agustín was in Miami looking to open a new business. He walked by a boba shop and called me, saying ‘Nati, there are people just buying tea.”
But Argentina is a coffee country. Natalia mentioned that no one in the country drinks tea — let alone sugary milk tea from Taiwan with chewy tapioca pearls at the bottom. “There were no boba shops in Argentina until 2020,” she says.
She could not shake the concept of people grabbing a milk tea. Indeed, she has never been to Asia and tries to refrain from sugar as much as possible. Natalia knew, however, that she did not want to continue clothing stores when moving to Miami. Why not start making homemade tapioca pearls? While some of us took up baking and painting during the lockdown, Natalia scoured the web to learn about boba during Argentina’s eight months of lockdown.
Aside from making everything from scratch and creating the voluminous menu, Natalia noticed one thing that needed to be added: Unlike cafes, where one can sit and enjoy their coffee, boba tea is mostly grab-and-go. She opened the first Say Tea & Smile in Coral Gables in October 2021 to make the restaurant inviting, where patrons can sit down and chat or study while they munch on the boba.
“I wondered why none of the shops had aesthetics. We thought about doing something floral and pink that makes people want to stay.” The shops are decorated in an art nouveau fashion.
Flowers adorn the outside, and floral wallpaper contrasts the heavy machinery needed to make boba. Those famous DQ benches are still there, but now painted pink. Two patrons were chatting and enjoying their ube tea (a lavender-colored beverage bespectacled by black boba) even with a noisy U.S.1 just a few feet away.
Say Tea & Smile shops are decorated in an art nouveau fashion, filled with pastel colors.
Photo by Grant Albert
“As I studied making boba in the apartment, whatever I learned was an idea to make something," explains Natalia. "It wasn’t done in one day. It’s not simple making boba. You need eight different machines like a fructose machine, sealing machine, and blenders.”
Natalia explains that this location is the first with a bonafide “specialty coffee” menu — South American coffee beans ground fresh and measured precisely for a perfect taste.
Natalia mentions that there will be a new Say Tea & Smile inside Dadeland Mall and the Palms within the next couple of months. The boba shop has been a trailblazer in a short time; while it respects the former DQ’s legacy, Natalia believes it is ready to be the next heir to the cone. “Our main idea is not to sell only the best boba but invite people to stay with us and enjoy their drink.”
Say Tea & Smile. 8545 S. Dixie Hwy., Pinecrest; 786-963-8073; instagram.com/sayteasmile. Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
