Many of downtown Bellevue's 2026 openings sell something sweet or something steeped. The ones with their own street doors have also settled on later closing times than the tea counters inside Bellevue Square. If dinner ends at 8:45 on a Tuesday, the mall's tea counter has about fifteen minutes left. CILO Lab on 106th Avenue NE has more than an hour.
That gap affects where an evening in the core can end, and it is getting wider. The newest arrival opened in mid-September. The next one, due in November, plans to serve cocktails next to its desserts.
The 9 p.m. Line
Start with the hours, because they carry the whole argument. The Downtown Bellevue Network's coffee and tea guide, last updated in September 2026, lists these closing times for the downtown tea counters. OAKBERRY's hours come from The Bellevue Collection's tenant directory.
| Counter | Location | Weeknight close | Weekend close | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HEYTEA | The Bravern, 700 110th Ave NE | 10 p.m. Sun–Thu | 11 p.m. Fri–Sat | Jasmine tea under salted cheese foam |
| Molly Tea | 103 Bellevue Way NE, #2 | 10 p.m. daily | 10 p.m. daily | White Champaca milk tea |
| CILO Lab | Bellevue Connection, 550 106th Ave NE | 10 p.m. daily | 10 p.m. daily | Tea-flavored gelato and tea floats |
| CHICHA San Chen | 188 Bellevue Square, Level 1 | 9 p.m. Mon–Sat | 7:30 p.m. Sun | Dong Ding oolong latte |
| OAKBERRY | Lincoln Square South, 2nd Floor | 9 p.m. Mon–Fri | 9 p.m. Sat, 7 p.m. Sun | Açaí bowls and smoothies |
The three that close latest all sit outside the mall. HEYTEA at The Bravern stays open until 11 on Friday and Saturday nights, which makes it the latest-closing counter on the list. The guide's own note for it says to expect weekend lines. CHICHA San Chen keeps to Bellevue Square's schedule and closes at 9 most nights and 7:30 on Sundays. On weekends, the two counters close two to three and a half hours apart.
The street-front shops keep their own hours, and so far they have chosen 10 or 11.
How 106th Avenue NE Became the Late Stretch
CILO Lab shows the trend most clearly. It opened at 550 106th Avenue NE, Suite 150, in The Bellevue Connection, and held its grand opening on September 12 and 13, 2026. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The storefront used to belong to Don't Yell at Me, a boba chain that opened there in 2024 and has since closed. So one tea shop replaced another, and the gelato case is the new part.
The menu explains why it works after dinner. Gelato is made on site, and the flavors rotate with the seasons. The September lineup included sea salt lemon, pistachio, London Fog, Da Hong Pao, Uji matcha and jasmine cloud. Any drink can become a float with a scoop of gelato. There are also two affogato options, one built on jasmine cloud espresso. A small dessert that pairs coffee with ice cream fits naturally at the end of a meal.
One practical detail stands out. Customers who park in the Bellevue Connection garage get three hours of validated parking. Three hours covers dinner nearby and dessert afterward without moving the car.
The building has turned over quickly. Itadaki Yakiniku, the Japanese steakhouse in the same property, closed in August. BA Artisan Bakehouse opened there in January 2026. Farther down 106th, Rooster & Rice opened July 30 at Soma Towers, 278 106th Avenue NE. It is the Thai chicken-rice chain's first Washington location. Goban Korean BBQ soft-opened on August 12 at MARI Bellevue, 1015 103rd Avenue NE. It is the brand's first U.S. location.
Taken together, the summer's dinner openings and the September dessert opening sit within a few blocks of each other. The next opening on the avenue goes further.
Why So Many Firsts Land Here
The run of first locations has been building for a while. Seattle Met's March 2026 look at overseas chains in Bellevue noted that Tendon Kohaku and LeTao both opened their first U.S. locations in Bellevue. It also noted that the city hosted the U.S. debuts of Farzi Café and Mavalli Tiffin Rooms the year before, and that BA Bakehouse opened its first U.S. store here early in 2026. The magazine's explanation centers on the format. A chain from overseas is new to local diners, its concept has already been proven elsewhere, and it arrives with established capital.
The summer of 2026 continued the pattern:
- Goban Korean BBQ: first U.S. location, MARI Bellevue
- OAKBERRY: first Pacific Northwest location, Lincoln Square South food hall
- Rooster & Rice: first Washington location, Soma Towers
- Makkee Dessert: first Washington location, Main Street
This matters to the closing-time story because a dessert or tea concept with a tested menu is cheap to keep open for one more hour. The kitchen is small, the line moves fast, and most of the menu is drinks. The 10 and 11 p.m. closings in the table come from that model.
The Ones Still Settling In
Not every new counter has posted regular hours, and a few are worth checking before you head over.
- Makkee Dessert, 10797 Main Street. This Chinese dessert chain held a soft opening from noon to 4 p.m. through September 10. Bellevue Beacon reported that regular hours had not been announced. The menu is built around the Makkee Deluxe, the Tapioca Deluxe and Mango Pomelo Sago. It is the one dessert opening in Old Bellevue, so its permanent hours will decide whether Main Street joins the late stretch.
- TeaByDo, Belgate Plaza, 1075 Bellevue Way NE. This panda-themed bubble tea shop had held its grand opening by early July. Its online ordering page lists mango pomelo sago and peach-plum jasmine tea with crystal boba. Check that it is open before you go.
- HeChaLou Tea House & Jelly, 1351 121st Avenue NE. This shop opened July 24 in the Spring District and serves Taiwanese teas with its signature tea jelly. It is the only one of these openings outside the downtown core.
- LeTao, The Bravern. The Hokkaido cheesecake shop's directory listing names the Fromage Double as its signature. Its sliced cakes pair easily with a HEYTEA drink from the same building.
November: A Dessert Counter That Pours Cocktails
The opening to watch is K-Cafe Dabang & Lounge, planned for November 2026 at the base of Bellevue Towers, 460 106th Avenue NE. The brand describes the concept as coffee in the morning, matcha in the afternoon and cocktails at night, with small bites all day. On the menu are cream coffees such as the Einspänner, yogurt lattes, matcha drinks, bingsu topped with injeolmi, and croffles. The Bellevue café is the brand's second location after Lynnwood, and it is a sister to Wild Wasabi.
The space has history that longtime downtown residents will recognize. Heavy Restaurant Group opened Lot No. 3 there in May 2010 as a two-story pub. Its Manhattan won Best Cocktail in the Bellevue Downtown Association's 2011 Haute Picks. Lot No. 3 closed in August 2020. SuperKim followed with a crab house in December 2024 and then a Thai chicken-rice concept in May 2025. It closed in July 2025 and moved to Pioneer Square.
So a corner known for an award-winning cocktail will get a cocktail menu again, this time next to a bingsu counter. If it opens on schedule, 106th Avenue NE will have a gelato shop open until 10 at number 550 and a dessert café with a bar at number 460.
Another opening is still pending. Sushi Tei, the Singapore-based conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, is still listed as coming soon on Bellevue Square's first floor, with no date posted. Earlier guidance pointed to September 2026, and later updates said fall. Its hours have not been posted.
Living near downtown Bellevue often comes down to small details like a closing time, a validated garage or a new counter two blocks over. Maureen Rammell follows those details closely and is happy to talk about any of them, from where to get gelato at 9:30 on a weeknight to how the changes along 106th Avenue NE affect daily life in the buildings nearby. Let's Connect.
