I happened to be on Chambers Street this morning, so I checked to see how Tea Time was doing. Since I'm rarely in the City Hall area long enough to stop for tea, it's been a long time since I'd been there. So I was rather dismayed to find that in its place was a Blue Spoon Coffee Co.! I suppose I'm happy for whatever entrepreneur is having a go at a beverage business. It just seems to add insult to injury to supplant a teashop in favor of a coffee company! Now the tea lovers of that neighborhood will have to hike into Chinatown for a decent cup of tea. (If readers know of other places in the area, feel free to comment.)
This illustrates the sad state of affairs for the tea lovers in New York. When Tealuxe opened in Midtown, I was eager to give it a shot - but I never made it there before it closed. Tea Time would have been out of my radar completely if Marie had not informed me of its existence a couple of years back. She was going to school downtown and liked to check out new places between classes. When I first visited Tea Time I liked the place - kind of small, and even smaller on my return visit, but just the right size for a busy area like that. I was slightly put off by the unreasonable prices of their retail loose tea. I remember thinking: "that's uncalled for!" Maybe the owners were too greedy for their own good: I don't know, and probably never shall.
Hope the Tavalons and Communiteas of this world can enjoy a longer life.
4 comments:
The independent shop keeper is becoming obsolete. They cannot function in today’s commerce of lower prices offered by the large conglomeration, unless they have a good financial backer or are rich. Its no wonder it’s harder to find fine food or unique clothing designs
which do not cost a fortune. Creative enterprise cannot continue unless it is managed by higher cost control.
The only option for those of us who appreciate the fine things in life—do it ourselves…and make it grand…boycott the greedy businesses who care more about profit then the customers enjoying a reward for their labors.
Don’t lose hope though in finding your fav tea spot that’ll stick around. I’ve the same desire for a café as in France wherein I can feel at home enjoy some fine Java (sorry)
And not have to suffer a hole in my pocket.
i always passed by that place and the one time i decided i would go in (in my senior year when i was aiming to visit all the little cafe's and restaurants since I knew I wouldn't have a second chance) bam, it was closed. sad huh.
That was a pretty nice tearoom, but honestly, I think it wasn't the best location for a tearoom. I remember feeling slightly tense as it was in such a "court" location, not to mention just a short walk away from Ground Zero. I don't know, the whole neighborhood makes me nauseous.
The people there were nice. Too bad it's gone!
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