Local News

The popular Asian lifestyle chain is taking over the former Forever 21 space in Downtown Crossing.

Downtown Crossing is about to get a new superstore.

Teso Life, a New York-based Asian lifestyle chain, opens Friday at 459 Washington St. in its first New England location.

The three-story, roughly 20,000-square-foot superstore will sell Japanese, Korean, and Chinese snacks, beauty and skincare products, toys, home goods, and other specialty items. The retailer has built a following for its mix of imported products, trending beauty brands, and blind-box collectibles.

The opening marks another addition to the stretch along Washington Street in Downtown Crossing that has seen renewed momentum in recent years. Earlier this spring, Uniqlo opened a store at 399 Washington St. in a space that sat vacant for two decades.

Teso Life will take over the former Forever 21 location, which closed in 2021. According to the Boston Globe, the brand had been eyeing Boston for years before landing what they called the “perfect site” downtown, aided by a below-market rent of $37 per square foot.

“We were looking at Newbury Street, but that area — it’s good, but it’s out of our budget, it’s way too expensive in terms of rent,” CY Kwok, general manager at Teso Life, told the Globe.

Ahead of the opening, sneak peaks of the store from content creators have generated excitement online.

“Oh boy this is dangerous,” one commenter wrote.

Another said they just shopped at a New York City location taking home blind boxes and makup, adding: “I am actually gonna loose my mind. Please take all my [money]!”

Not everyone was surprised by the retailer’s arrival. One commenter noted that Boston already has a robust offering of Asian specialty items. “We’ve had Asian grocery stores in Boston since I got here 30 years ago,” one user wrote.

Teso Life; 459 Washington St., Boston; Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.