diff --git a/vertexai/resources/preview/feature_store/offline_store.py b/vertexai/resources/preview/feature_store/offline_store.py
index 3a785711e4..ad5bf193e7 100644
--- a/vertexai/resources/preview/feature_store/offline_store.py
+++ b/vertexai/resources/preview/feature_store/offline_store.py
@@ -118,7 +118,8 @@ def _feature_to_data_source(
     bq_uri = feature_group._gca_resource.big_query.big_query_source.input_uri
     assert bq_uri
 
-    fully_qualified_table = bq_uri.lstrip("bq://")
+    fully_qualified_table = bq_uri.removeprefix("bq://")
+
     assert fully_qualified_table
 
     query = (