Friday, July 17, 2009

Is Tea The New Food Franchise Trend?

I noticed at the SW Food Expo earlier this month a heavy emphasis on beverages, from smoothie mixes to teas. And then today when getting my quarterly coiffure the girls at Michael Raymond (Hi girls!) told me the former Quizno's spot at Preston/Forest is going to be a tea shop.

Village Tea Company has a sign up, they're moving quickly (September according to their website). They have a kid's area, "a supervised, comfortable, educational and fun experience for kids while parents continue with the things they do, all while parents can keep an eye on them via closed circuit television." This could be very handy for PTA meetings for moms with younger kids at home.

It appears to be geared towards a sit and relax environment, rather than a get your drink and go, or in their words, "where moms, friends, young professionals, all of them finding their own personal escape". IJS, mine does not involve a shop with kids running around it. And it looks like smoothies will be on the menu as well.

Anyhow, I guess tea is the latest in a series of stores seeking to sell a $3 price point for something that costs pennies to produce. If that game plan still works, somebody needs to start a cotton candy store on this corner!

1 comment:

Martin said...

What a great blog....!
I'm Martin, the CEO and 1 of the partners behind Village Tea Company Inc. We really hope to be an escape for everyone and have taken special care to deliver on that promise.

Our incredible tea menu will be accompanied by small salads, sandwichs, pastries and crepes (my personal favorite) - all the things that bring out the flavor of tea. The kids area will be organized quiet play at limited and set times throughout the week featuring childrens authors debuting new books and certified child care individuals to supervise as needed.

Lastly, for the after dinner crowd not quite ready to go home, mood light, a soft live sax or guitar and La Duni deserts. Any questions please email me at martin@villageteaco.com
Happy Steeping!!!