Tea Lounge

World Tea News highlights Tea Lounge franchise effort

admin — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:41:56 +0000

“This idea of creating a community-based environment in a cafe felt very appealing to me. It had to be a place where people could feel at home. I have tasked my employees with building these relationships that will support the community so in turn, the community will support us,” Spiel explained.

Tea Lounge Franchise featured in New York Times and International Herald Tribute

admin — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:47:24 +0000

After twelve years of running two small, organic tea shops in the New York borough of Brooklyn, Jonathan Spiel had to close one down when his landlord increased the rent in 2009. Facing that setback, Mr. Spiel decided to look into selling Tea Lounge franchises to expand into new markets and keep his business going.

The Tea Lounge’s first franchise opened this year, in Kuwait.

Tea Lounge in Crain’s New York

admin — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:25:38 +0000

Tea Lounge blends into Kuwaiti culture, which emphasizes gathering over tea and whose per-capita income is the world’s fifth highest. “It’s a booming economy,” Mr. Spiel said. “It’s a very social culture, which fits in great with my concept.”

That concept is part café, part bar and part live-music venue. Mr. Spiel said the Kuwait outpost’s menu will add cheesecake, a local favorite, and will leave out the alcohol and prosciutto sandwiches.

Four New Yorkers offer advice on how to start your own business

admin — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 15:00:53 +0000

Becoming a franchise owner is hard work—in addition to learning about the company you’re working with, the process involves communicating with customers, running numbers, publicity and everything in between. But, Spiel notes, there are perks: “All the legwork—from concept to implementation—is already done for you.”

Tea Lounge to expand to Middle East

admin — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:36:55 +0000

“I went through all the café franchises,” said Jonathan Spiel, Tea Lounge’s owner. “There’s nothing else like this, that has the café/entertainment/bar feature.”

Now he has decided to turn Tea Lounge into a franchise and recently signed a deal with his first franchisee, a Kuwaiti businessman named Mohammed al Arbash who plans to open his first Tea Lounge in a Kuwait City shopping mall in November.

Burger-Loving Kuwait Becomes Oasis For U.S. Franchises: Retail

admin — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 03:37:47 +0000

How does a Brooklyn lounge that boasts a bar and is popular with nursing mothers become a winning concept in an Arab country where alcohol is banned and women must be modest?

“It’s a tea culture, yet there are no tea places,” said Spiel.

While that’s not technically true, the desert state does have two things Brooklyn lacks: oil money and a hunger for more U.S. brands

Tea Lounge expanding to the Middle East

admin — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:17:40 +0000

The region also has robust consumer culture, said Jonathan Spiel, owner of Tea Lounge in Brooklyn, N.Y., whose first franchised agreement will cover not the United States but Kuwait.

“It’s a very social culture, and going to malls and socializing is a big part of their day,” Spiel said. “Because of that, the malls there are unbelievable: Every brand you can think of is there, and the locals want to develop something unique and cool.”

Tea Lounge CEO on hiring and firing

admin — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:09:04 +0000

For Jonathan Spiel, CEO of the Tea Lounge, all hires need to “play well with others.” Spiel said he often looks for people with ‘big heads’ when hiring, a term he uses to describe a person who takes their own initiative without being told to do so.

Park Slope’s Tea Lounge may become international chain

admin — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 13:57:55 +0000

The Tea Lounge — the neighborhood’s longtime home for laptop-clacking writers and mommy meet-up groups — will become a chain with in-the-works franchise locations under consideration in Long Island, Virginia, and Kuwait, said owner Jonathan Spiel.

Bars Where Your Laptop Goes Down Smooth

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:57:39 +0000

Ok, so it’s not a bar for most of the day. But the prize for size goes to Tea Lounge; its spaciousness makes you even more glad you don’t work in a cubicle. (In fact, the place is so big that it hosted a big-band showcase two years ago.) Full of tables, chairs and sofas of all shapes and sizes, it nails the inviting boffice ambiance.