Silver Tips Tea Blog » Building a Tea Room

New Year reflections

Anupa — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:32:10 +0000

I hope this new year brings joy and good health to all. Last year was our first full year after our expansion and we pored over our numbers to see what we could learn:

We serve an increased number of customers
Spending per person declined
Sales of Food & Tea consumed at the Tea Room increased
Sales of Loose Leaf Tea and tea Accessories declined
We increased our new customer base
Our larger space allowed us to rent out part of the Tea Room for smaller parties
The banquette is a big hit
Our loyalty card was used frequently and was redeemed for the most free points of any year to date
Our online sales were the best in 3 years
We received high praise for our food and tea
Customers raved about our soups and scones
Desserts need to be indulgent – people like to treat themselves

Here’s our analysis of the above: Although it is obvious that we would serve more people at a larger establishment, the economy has played a significant part. People are still eating out, specially at “casual dining” places but spending less when they do. It is to be expected that in a depressed economy, customers would cut back on discretionary spending on items like specialty teas and teaware. Interestingly, although teapots and tea mugs look great at the Tea Room and are essential to further the tea experience at home, they are still the smallest part of our business. We fine-tuned our service levels and are still making adjustments to our work flow, our systems and our menu. For the year ahead, we expect to hold our Menu prices at current levels although it is very likely that loose leaf tea prices will increase slightly mid-year. Thanks to all our customers for your patronage and we are here and ready to serve you in 2011.

Appreciation of our new space..

Anupa — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:38:33 +0000

A good friend of mine has a cabinetry and woodworking business – all things wood, carpentry, home design, interior build-outs, custom benches, shelves, countertops, small and big. His work is clean, professional and of singular quality. The other day he stopped by our Tea Room and sent me a very gracious e-mail:

The tea room expansion looks great! The open, bright atmosphere with cheerful colored walls make for a friendly environment for your customers. The simple straight lines throughout the store, and of the display shelves show your wares well. It was a pleasure to stop in the other day to see the new improved shop.

Tom, Black Sheep Woodworking, Hawthorne, NY

Coming from someone who knows design, we were doubly pleased. Check out his blog and business at www.blacksheepwoodworking.blogspot.com

Our new Signpost

Anupa — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:27:25 +0000

Our new outdoor Signpost just turned out beautifully. After a lot of pondering and paperwork and Architectural Board Reviews and permits, we settled upon an artistically done sign that would hang high and be visible from both sides of the street. Our artist, Sam Ditullo did a masterful job. I couldn’t understand how “Silver Tips” could be visible from both sides of the sign but here it is! Sam does all things art – awnings, signs, window painting, murals, you name it. We discovered him 10 years ago when he did the lettering and logo on our large domed awning. Thanks, Sam. This was his idea and we love it!

Comments on our first week

Anupa — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:55:27 +0000

Today was the first Saturday after re-opening and despite a pretty steady rain throughout the day, we had a good crowd, both regulars and new customers. Here are their comments:

Fabulous colors!
We’ve come by many times to see if you were open and finally you are!
We’ve been reading your blog and recognized the fabric on the booth.
I’ll always get a table now!
How come no Accessories? We need them!
Thanks for the e-mail notification – we were waiting eagerly.
We had to come today, just to see what was going on..
Oh, I love the bigger window tables.
Two restrooms? Yeah!
The floor is just great.

Thank you! Thank you! We are so happy you are pleased with the results. Now that the first week is almost behind us, we will be focused on ordering Tea Accessories and Gourmet items next week. We’re aiming for Nov. 14/15 for our 10th Anniversary and Grand Re-opening weekend. Let’s see if we can make that work. Meanwhile, come and have tea!

Flowers on our Opening Day

Anupa — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:14:01 +0000

We are one among several restaurants in Tarrytown on Broadway and Main Street. Right next to us is a busy Greek restaurant, always mobbed with customers. They’ve helped us on many occasions and we help them out by allowing them to use our outside cafe space when we are closed. A few years ago they expanded their space and we shared their pain! Now the shoe was on the other foot as we renovated. What a lovely gesture to get this beautiful orchid from them on our opening day.

Day 1 – New Store

Anupa — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:57:30 +0000

We were still unloading deliveries when the first customer walked in yesterday, at the dot of 11 am – we had to photograph it! After the many oohs and aahs at our new floor, new colors and bright, cheery tea room, we proceeded to take orders, make tea and serve food, all the while trying out new systems and procedures. This is why it’s called a soft opening (as opposed to a Grand Re-opening). We soon began noting the changes we needed to make before the weekend rush. We’ve dropped one e-mail blast yesterday to our Loyalty customers and our online customers in the tri-state area as well as friends and family telling everyone we’re open. We’ve already received many messages of thanks and congratulations and a few baskets of flowers. Thank you all! Over time, you will see pictures on the wall and the shelves filled with accessories. Till then, come in and enjoy our tea, food and hospitality.

New Tea Room Hours

Anupa — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:51:59 +0000

We’ve changed our hours to open a little earlier daily. Effective Monday, October 19, they are:

Monday to Saturday: 11 am to 6 pm

Sunday: 11 am to 4.30 pm

Please note our kitchen closes 30 minutes before the posted closing time so try to arrive at least an hour ahead of closing time to enjoy the delights of our full menu.

Tea Room Re-Opening Monday, Oct. 19

Anupa — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:03:40 +0000

Hurrah! We’re finally approved to open. And not a day too soon. We’ve been bombarded with phone calls, customers at the Tea Room door, e-mails and blog comments. We’ve turned away customers at the door, even those with out-of-town visitors. Horrible, horrible.

Yes, our hiatus was longer than we had hoped for but there is sometimes no way to rush these things. We just had to follow the process. The inspections are all done and we’ve been officially given the OK by the town and county. We won’t be opening with a Grand Re-opening on Day One. All we hope to achieve is to serve our customers with great tea and food. We’ll worry about Tea Accessories and hanging pictures later. I think you will love the look of the place – it doesn’t resemble the old Tea Room at all; it feels like a brand new store.

Already, we’ve been asked why we’re not opening tomorrow which is a Sunday and one of our busiest days. Simple answer – yesterday we had our inspections and it takes 2 days just to get our food and other deliveries in to start making food preps and putting ourselves back together again. You will also notice when you visit, that we’ve almost doubled in size. We need more linen, cutlery, plates, teapots and food to match the growth. It takes a couple of days to get them all into the store and clean up all the construction dust that inevitably creeps into a space. Bear with us. We’re so happy to be opening again and hope good times are here again. See you next week!

Tea Room Opening – alert

Anupa — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:51:52 +0000

We hope to open by next weekend, somewhere around October 16th but we will confirm through an e-mail blast plus blog and website postings. One more full day of work remains and some finishing touches on Tuesday followed by various inspections. This afternoon, the additional new chairs arrive and we are now on the final leg of painting and plumbing.

Thanks again for your patience and see you soon!

Counters taking shape

Anupa — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:07:18 +0000

It is now nail-biting time. We all agree we need to re-open the store and we all understand we’re not quite there. If you’ve ever renovated your house, you know the horrendous amount of dust and debris that accumulates during construction. It will take us a couple of days just to wipe down every item and clean and sanitize all the equipment. This is before we even think of making any food.

The good news is that the painting is almost done and looks gorgeous. We went with a warm honeywheat shade that complements the floor. The counters are almost built and today the plumber does his part and hooks up the water boilers and the sinks. This morning, the banquette and additional table bases and tops arrive. We shouldn’t lose sight of the main reason for doing this – more seats! We’ve been working furiously at the office to make sure we will have enough china, cutlery, linen, kitchen equipment, menus and personnel to accommodate our expansion. And to top it all, 2009 is our 10th anniversary year so we’re planning a celebration some time soon. We’re ready with our e-mail notification and blog and website posting for next week to let you know that we’re open. We may not open on day one at full capacity but we will open.

Taking Neighborliness to a Fault