A specialty matcha shop called AstroLab opens Friday, Oct. 16, at 1600 W. Lane Ave. in Upper Arlington.
The shop will share space with Milky Way Matcha Bar, which opened at the same Lane Avenue address in June. Both brands belong to Jason Lam, founder of Milky Way Matcha and creative director of Fukuryu Brands, the Columbus restaurant group behind Fukuryu Ramen. The Lantern first reported the opening.
AstroLab lets customers choose among different matcha cultivars and offers house-made flavors drawn from Japanese ingredients. Milky Way, by contrast, primarily uses a single cultivar across its locations to keep its flavored drinks consistent.
"AstroLab is kind of like the more fancy, elevated big brother to Milky Way," Lam said.
AstroLab will stay at the Lane Avenue location for now. Lam said the long-term plan is to move the concept to a standalone space in the Short North or German Village.
How Milky Way got its start
Milky Way launched in July 2024 when Fukuryu Brands converted the sushi station inside its Bridge Park restaurant at 4540 Bridge Park Ave. in Dublin into a matcha drink and dessert bar, 614now reported. The original location operates through both a walk-up window outside the restaurant and a separate line inside.
Lam told 614now in July 2024 that he saw matcha as deserving "a category of its own when it comes to food & beverages." He said at the time that the brand would go beyond lattes, incorporating matcha into desserts, ice cream and carbonated drinks not commonly found in Columbus.
Milky Way opened a second storefront on Lane Avenue, bringing the brand into a corridor that serves Upper Arlington families and nearby workers.
Sourcing and transparency
According to the company's matcha program page, Milky Way says it visits the farmers and millers it sources from in Japan. The company says its program centers on showcasing the depth and character of premium matcha while keeping the experience approachable.
Lam said AstroLab plans to share details about each matcha's farm, harvest and region of origin with customers. The concept will eventually offer matcha-blending classes and machines that mill tea leaves on-site.
