CONCORD – Sunday, the opening of a new boba tea shop in Concord, advertised on social media, sparked fears about the size of the expected crowd. So instead of the city being happy about the opening of a new small business, the store’s owner said he was threatened by police for inviting car enthusiasts to join in the festivities.
It was opening day for the Milk Tea Lab on Clayton Road in Concord and as a budding entrepreneur, Iyanni Muniz knew he had to do something to get the word out.
“We’re not a big company, so to get our name and ourselves out there, we have to advertise,” he said. “Now, with today’s technology, social media is key. It’s crucial and I have some friends that I network with and they spread the word.”
One of his friends posted a public invitation on a TikTok site called “Bay Area Car Meets,” calling on car owners to support the opening. But it caught the attention of Concord police, and Muniz said a lieutenant threatened him with fines and tickets if he tried to organize an “unauthorized event.”
“She came to my business to tell me to my face that this is not going to happen,” Muniz said. “And I said, you know what? This is my grand opening. I had my attorney say we can still have our grand opening — just not the car rally — but people are more than welcome to come to us at any time.”
KPIX
The tea lab is next to a long-shuttered Kmart, and about a week ago, Muniz discovered that the large, empty parking lot in front of it had been cordoned off with caution tape and signs reading, “No Trespassing. No Unauthorized Events.”
“I came outside, this was all here,” Muniz said. “So I don’t know who put it up, but most likely it would be the Concord Police Department because that’s their citation of the words ‘unauthorized events’ — ‘no unauthorized events.'”
So at 11 a.m., the car meet that wasn’t a car meet began, with dozens of expensive vehicles arriving, their young passengers filling the boba shop with customers celebrating the grand opening. Outside, the car enthusiasts didn’t seem all that surprised that they were arousing the suspicions of law enforcement.
“I don’t know, I think everyone is suspicious of something they don’t understand,” said Chris Vincent of El Sobrante. “I think if you’re part of the car scene, there’s nothing to be suspicious about. Just some like-minded people hanging out. No different than a bowling league, baseball team or a basketball team. It’s the same thing.”
“It’s literally just a park and chill,” said Brentwood car owner Cesar Reyes. “It’s not rocket science. You can literally look and see what kind of car meet it’s going to be. So it’s not like they see the post and think, ‘Oh, this is going to be a sideshow.’ It’s never going to be a sideshow.”
John Avila is Muniz’s friend who posted the invitation online and said people often classify all car meets as illegal sideshows.
“I think they came here in a rude, disrespectful way,” he said. “And it just wasn’t — how can I put it — ‘professional,’ as it could be.”
Muniz never tried to pick a fight. He just did what he could to make his first day a success in a mall that had been pretty quiet for a while.
“I just want them to know that this can be a good turnaround,” he said. “And everything will be fine in the end.”
At the end of the day everything was fine. Thanks to social media, the store gained many new customers, even though none of them had a permit to be there.
On Sunday night, Concord police responded by saying the signs were put up by the property owner, who said he did not want the gathering to take place. Muniz disputed that, saying the owner had no problem with the gathering until he was approached by police.
John Ramos
