In early January, the city’s newest Asian eatery opened on the newly revamped Main Street in downtown Lynchburg. Located under one roof is Japanese fusion restaurant Mizumi Japanese Bistro and local boba tea staple Moon Tea of Lynchburg, which debuted as a food truck in July 2021.
“As Moon Tea got famous, we needed a local location or building,” Manager David Kang said. “So, we decided to combine the two restaurants together.”
According Kang, they purchased the Main Street property in October 2021 and renovated the building over a two-month span. When deciding what to name the restaurant that would accompany Moon Tea, he says they were inspired by the nearby waterfall in Hollins Mill Park.
“‘Mizumi,’ in Japanese it means ‘waterfall’,” Kang said.
The restaurant is across the street from the Lynchburg Community Market and in walking distance from the city’s business hub, making it poised to benefit from the recent completion of the Main Street Renewal Project.
Since the grand opening on Jan. 8, Kang said Mizumi and Moon Tea have enjoyed a consistent stream of 300 to 400 customers each day. The busyness picked up even more when students from local universities returned to Lynchburg to start their spring semesters.
Many customers enjoy the 30-plus flavors of bubble and fruit teas Moon Tea offers, while others are drawn to the go-to Japanese cuisine—hibachi and ramen, among other dishes—served by Mizumi. What keeps them coming back is not only the clean, bright atmosphere of the restaurant, but also the quality and freshness of the fare.
“I know the other places do it well too, but I can say that [our] taste is different, our freshness is different,” Kang said. “Also, for bubble teas, we have our own recipes.”
What’s the secret? According to Kang, nearly every tea and food item on the menu—everything from Thai tea to teriyaki sauce—is made fresh daily from Mizumi and Moon Tea’s unique recipes.
“Every day we boil fresh milk teas, unsweet teas, unsweet milk teas and we make our own green teas and everything,” Kang said. “So, we don’t buy it from other places, we just make it our own.”
At a Glance:
Mizumi & Moon Tea
1125 Main Street, Lynchburg
mizumiva.com
Hours: Monday – Sunday
11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Photos Courtesy of Downtown Lynchburg Association
