Thanks to a group of employees bonding over their love for Korean pop music group BTS, Ampersand Coffee recently hosted its second “cup sleeve” event featuring music, vendors and photo ops.
Ampersand Coffee pins have K-pop group BTS’ characters. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Guests walk around from vendor to vendor at Ampersand Coffee’s BTS cup sleeve event on March 26. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A vendor sells keychains, jewelry and other accessories on March 26. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
K-pop group BTS-based merchandise is for sale at the cup sleeve event at Ampersand Coffee’s 3009 Bledsoe St. location on March 26. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A vendor sells stickers and pins at Ampersand Coffee’s 3009 Bledsoe St. location on March 26. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
The BTS cup sleeve event hosts set up a photo booth with life-size cutouts of BTS members on March 26. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Vendor Inu-san Onigiri sells borahae cream sandwiches made with purple cream and strawberries. The term “borahae” was coined during a 2016 concert and it means “I Purple You,” or “I’ll love you till the end of days,” since purple is the last color of the rainbow. The phrase combines two Korean words: Violet (bora) and I love you (saranghae,) according to Sports Keeda Pop, a news website founded in 2009. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Nathan Bounphisai, owner of Inu-san Onigiri, cuts sandwiches on March 26. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Nathan Bounphisai, owner of Inu-san Onigiri, preps sandwiches. Bounphisai’s Dallas-based business focuses on the Japanese onigiri & sando pop-up concept and his business won 2021 Eater Dallas Award Winner “Best Pop-Up.” (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
One of the organizers, Lani Smith, rings up a customer on March 26. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A guest stops by a merchandise table at Ampersand’s 3009 Bledsoe St. location. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
The organizers sold raffle tickets, stickers, cards while vendors sold anything from sandwiches to enamel pins. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
The BTS cup sleeve event’s organizers hosted a cup sleeve event prior to the March 26 one in January 2022. From left to right: Hannah Vu, Lex Ongoco, Lindsey Robledo, Lani Smith. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
Fans typically organize cup sleeve events at boba tea or coffee shops around the time of a K-pop group member’s birthday or the anniversary of a group’s debut. The business agrees to offer specialized drinks — or at least rename its original menu — in honor of the group. After customers purchase their drinks, they receive a fan-designed cup sleeve dedicated to the band members they are celebrating.
On Saturday, March 26, Ampersand’s 3009 Bledsoe St. location transformed to celebrate rappers J-Hope and Suga, two BTS members who had birthdays in February and March. The shop’s first event in January also drew large numbers of fans, also known as ARMY, to the combination cafe and bar space in the West Seventh business district.
✨ATTENTION TEXAS ARMY!!✨
— lani⁷♡ (@kimdojas) March 11, 2022
My friends and I are hosting a SOPE cupsleeve event!! If you live in the DFW area come to Ampersand and join us as we celebrate Sope! Dm me for any questions and spread the word !🌈 ✨ #sope #btscupsleeve #JHOPE #YOONGI pic.twitter.com/zTRlIUXfng
Ampersand employees and friends Lindsey Robledo, Hannah Vu, Lani Smith, Lex Ongoco and Jamie Dominguez were the force behind the BTS-themed events. Throughout her two and a half years working for the company, Ongoco thought about hosting a cup sleeve event at Ampersand, especially as more K-pop groups perform at Dickies Arena.
Popular girl group TWICE visited Fort Worth in February, and male groups MONSTA X and Stray Kids are slated to perform here this summer. In November 2019, the members of SuperM were among the first musicians to host a show at Dickies. BTS performed its most recent concert in North Texas at the Fort Worth Convention Center in 2018.
“We’re actually talking to one of our owners about possibly hosting an event for MONSTA X,” Robledo said. “Our owners are amazing. We’re so blessed, and they have so many connections. That’s honestly the whole reason we get to set all this up.”
Cup sleeve events are a regular occurrence in Carrollton’s Koreatown district, but they are fairly rare in Fort Worth, Robledo said. The next step for Ampersand could be hosting a K-pop rave night for when the business turns into a club in the evening hours, Vu said.
Both Vu and Robledo said they were drawn to BTS and the fandom community because of the group’s ability to address mental health issues and bring people together with their music.
“Becoming friends with other ARMYs and having the same passionate love for them, it’s heartwarming,” Vu said. “We found them at the right time.”
Editor’s note: Reporter Cristian ArguetaSoto worked as a barista at Ampersand Coffee before his time at the Fort Worth Report. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter.
Haley Samsel is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Her position is supported by a grant from the Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation. Contact her by email or via Twitter.