The Arboretum Teapioca Lounge reopens after deadly August shooting

Following a deadly shooting in August, the Teapioca Lounge in the Arboretum outdoor shopping mall reopened Saturday.

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Following a deadly shooting in August, the Teapioca Lounge in the Arboretum outdoor shopping mall reopened Saturday. 

On August 31, a man entered the Teapioca Lounge and shot two people, killing one and seriously injuring the other, before turning the firearm on himself. Police identified the suspect as Tang-Kang Dave Chiang, 38, and the victim who died as Laura Jauregui, 64. Police said that the victims were unknown to the shooter.

“It was devastating to hear what happened,” Cameron Daake, who works on franchise development for Teapioca Lounge. “Our main priority was to ensure that the employees [and] the owner had the resources they needed to recover,” he continued. 

Teapioca Lounge staff weren’t physically injured but traumatized by the incident. 

 “They're doing better. They're a resilient bunch of employees. I mean, I can't imagine  what it must have been like to actually witness that. But our main priority was to take care of them, and we did give them all the resources they needed,” Daake continued. 

Teapico Lounge opened its first location on Parmer Lane in north Austin in 2011. Since then, 23 locations have been opened across the U.S. The Arboretum location opened in 2017. 

As apart of its reopening, the Teapioca Lounge in the Arboretum is offering free drinks Saturday  to first responders, veterans and teachers until closing. 

“It's great to open again,” Daake said. “A lot of our customers missed us [and] the Arboretum is a really good family atmosphere.”

“Thank you to all the supporters that reached out to us with your kind words and offerings of how you can help. We really appreciate it. It showed how strong the community we have the Teapioca Lounge in the Arboretum,” Daake said.