PreviousNext

Boba Train Celebrating a Year of Business

The caramel boba is one of the shop's most popular drinks. 

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Boba Train is celebrating its one year anniversary by giving back to its customers.

For the month of September, Boba Train is taking 10 percent off all boba drink sales.

The tea shop is located at 47 Railroad St. and serves a variety of drinks and baked goods.

Owner Liliana Arteaga opened during last year's Labor Day weekend. She said her shop was inspired by her daughter, who introduced her to boba.

"She loves bubble tea, and she introduced me to this drink, being honest, the first time, when I tried it, I thought it was very sweet, and I told her. I told her it was a little sweet," Arteaga said.

But her daughter loved boba tea so much and they would have to drive far to get a drink. Arteaga thought there should be a closer option and her daughter gave her the idea to open her own space.

"Since we didn't have any boba tea around the area, she was making me drive to get boba tea to other towns, which I thought was a little crazy to make me drive just for a simple drink, right? So eventually she says, 'Mama, we don't have any bubble tea in the Berkshires I think maybe we should open one," Arteaga said.

Arteaga, who also owns Shots Cafe in Lenox, was thinking about opening a second business but wasn't sure if it would be an expansion of the cafe. The thought of creating drinks felt like the right idea.

"I love creating drinks, and I always thought about opening a second place to specialize in specialty drinks and then to add boba tea was a great idea, since it was something different to attract customers," she said.

But Arteaga had to learn to make the drink first. Just like at Shots Cafe, Arteaga likes to make everything from scratch and use only natural ingredients. She does this with all of her ingredients including the tapioca balls that she makes fresh every morning.

"Of course, I didn't know how to make a boba tea. That was the second task for me, to find a way to make a really good bubble tea. My first goal, it was, don't make it too sweet," she laughed.

Arteaga took a course in New York with a teacher from Vietnam who taught her how to make the teas herself. She said she learned to add the tapioca to any drink and will also make the boba teas hot as well.

The tea-based drink is made by adding milk and flavoring and the boba, or tapioca pearls, small chewy balls made from the starchy cassava root. 

She said this drink is for all ages and everyone should try it, "boba tea is not just for kids, boba tea is for everyone and don't be afraid to try."

Arteaga hopes to increase foot traffic in the area and get others to try these drinks for themselves.

"I will like increase the traffic. And my goal is the people from different towns come and visit to us, come and discover the great experience of Boba Train."

One of her most popular drinks is caramel boba tea, as well as the Thai, mango, strawberry, and taro flavors. But her favorite is the jasmine boba tea.

The shop also offers hot and cold coffee drinks and teas, smoothies, lemonades, chais, pastries and cookies.

One of her favorite parts about the business is the opportunity to meet and speak to those in the community and customers who come from different places.

"Definitely part of being open for Boba Train is I really love socializing and meeting new people and new friends. And this is giving me the opportunity."

Boba Train is open from Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Pryor & Peacock's Whimsical Furniture Environmentally Friendly

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:17AM / Friday, August 21, 2026

 

The company uses digital printing to create the upholstery fabric, saving water and saving vintage furniture from ending up in landfills.

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — A unique furniture store has popped up on Elm Street this month.

Mom-and-daughter store Pryor & Peacock is hosting the pop-up storefront from Aug. 13 to Aug. 25 at 6 Elm. The New Marlborough business is co-founded by Rosalina Wright and Luca Shapiro, who is also the creative director. 

Their online shop was created in 2024 but they wanted people to see the pieces in person, so they're renting the space for a limited time before a long-term tenant moves in.

The store sources prints to create unique fabrics and reimagines vintage and antique furniture acquired at auctions, local shops, and online.

"We source prints from all over the world that date from the late 1600s up through mid-20th century, and Luca turns those prints into fabric by manipulating them, scanning them, oftentimes has to add or subtract things, and then we manufacture the fabric using only digital printing, which is very environmentally friendly, unlike traditional textile printing," Wright said.

Upholstering the furniture can take weeks of work. Shapiro looks for the perfect design for each piece and, if need be, uses Adobe Photoshop to extend the art work to fit or enhance the print.

"One of the most difficult parts comes in marrying the fabric to a piece of furniture because we only use antique and vintage frames also to be earth friendly, and they're also more beautiful and durable than new furniture," Wright said. "So the image has to go with the furniture, so that takes a lot of work."

One of Pryor & Peacock's missions is to be environmentally friendly. Digital printing doesn't use the same amount of water as traditional textile productions do nor does it contaminate water with ink according to their website.

Not only are they saving water, but they are saving furniture from going into the landfill while also using more durable furniture that doesn't break as easily as current pieces. They started their business to create something unique and to help the environment together.

"It's creating something nobody else is doing. People can't continue to buy throwaway furniture. Six percent of American landfills is furniture, and digital printing not only opens up the possibility of being able to put unique images on a piece of furniture, but it also is, as I said, environmentally friendly. So, for us, the excitement is to take an old East Lake settee that somebody's going to store in their barn and forget about, and make it something completely new and surprising," Wright said.

They hope their furniture helps bring a pop of fun to someone's home.

"We think our furniture is very whimsical and surprising, and most furniture today is oatmeal colored couches and gray neutral chairs, and it's boring," she said.

The two named their business after their mothers' maiden names to honor them and believe the name reflects their pieces.

Shapiro works in interior design outside of the business and the two liked working together and thought it would be great to start a business together. Shapiro says they can work well together and that her and her mother, Wright, has flipped houses before and have the same eye for design.

"So it's very easy for us to work together. When we see something, generally we agree on whether it works or doesn't work on a piece. We agree on the color schemes and that sort of thing. So it's very fun and fulfilling to work together," Shapiro said.