Tea Lounge Franchising
Society moves at a fast pace and the connections that we always felt to our neighbors, our neighborhoods and our communities have become much less important than they used to be. We don’t take time to relax, to practice the art of conversation and to get to know one another anymore. Imagine a place where that begins to change. A place where people in your community congregate to re-connect and to "Come Together." A place where we can celebrate each other's talents, connect to technology or just enjoy a great cup of tea or coffee, espresso or a cocktail and talk to our friends and neighbors.
This is what the Tea Lounge Opportunity is all about. We are not your typical franchise though... We see ourselves in a very unique way. We are the "Unfranchise." That means you get to be your own boss, to have impact and independence, to make decisions yourself about the things that make sense in your community. Let your entrepreneurial spirit thrive... Join the Tea Lounge and "come together" in our community today.
The franchise fee is $25,000. Included in the fee is an exclusive territory, use of the Tea Lounge brand name, operating systems, logo, trade dress, comprehensive training program and ongoing support.
The franchise royalty is 5%. We discount the royalty for the first four months of operations to 2.5% to give you time to build your customer base and grow your business. There is also 1% brand development fee.
We require potential franchisees to have a minimum of $400,000 net worth with at least $100,000 in liquid capital.
Yes, there are many ways to finance your Tea Lounge. While we do not provide direct financing to franchisees, we will discuss various financing options including traditional SBA loans, home equity loans, and retirement fund rollovers.
The amount of money individual franchises can expect to make will vary depending upon a multitude of factors. Tea Lounge does provide a financial performance representation within our Franchise Disclosure Document which you will receive during the sales process.
You will receive 10 days of training at our location in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY covering Tea Lounge Systems and Procedures, Food Safety, Customer Service, Finance, Administrative Procedures, Event Planning and Local Store Marketing. What kind of support will franchisees get? The Tea Lounge provides its franchisees with support from site selection approvals to store opening assistance, training, ongoing consultation, marketing programs and materials, new products and more.
It generally takes up to 6 weeks between the time you first fill the application until you attend the personal interview. Once approved, how long would it take to open the location? This time varies from location to location, but it generally takes about six months after signing the Franchise Agreement before you will be ready to open for business.
This time varies from location to location, but it generally takes about three to six months after signing the Franchise Agreement before you will be ready to open for business.
| Type of Expenditure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $25,000 |
| Leasehold Improvements, Construction Cost | $35,000 to $60,000 |
| Blueprints | $500 to $3,000 |
| Rent – 3 Months | $12,500 to $24,000 |
| Furnishings, Fixtures Equipment | $35,000 to $75,000 |
| Complete Signage | $3,000 to $5,000 |
| Point of Sale System | $2,500 to $5,000 |
| Travel & living expenses while training | $0 to $2,000 |
| Pre-Opening Expenses | $3,000 to $5,000 |
| Professional Fees | $2,500 to $5,000 |
| Licenses and Permits | $500 to $2000 |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $2,000 to $4,000 |
| Opening Inventory | $7,000 to $10,000 |
| Insurance – 3 Months | $2,250 to $3,750 |
| Additional Funds – 3 Months | $10,000 to $15,000 |
| TOTAL | $140,750 to $243,750 |
The first step in joining Tea Lounge is to complete the short initial inquiry form. A member of our team will contact you and answer your initial questions. If the opportunity sounds right, you will complete an application.
We want to get to know you and you need to get to know us. We will conduct a series of personal phone calls, webinars and/or an in person discovery day so that we both can learn more about each other.
We will continue to be available to answer your questions as you contact other franchisees, research your territory and determine if the Tea Lounge opportunity is right for you.
If we both determine that you will be a good fit in the Tea Lounge franchise system, we will issue franchise agreements and begin training.
What others are saying about the Tea Lounge franchise opportunity:
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World Tea News highlights Tea Lounge franchise effort
"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.
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Tea Lounge Franchise featured in New York Times and International Herald Tribute
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.
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Tea Lounge in Crain's New York
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.
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Four New Yorkers offer advice on how to start your own business
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.”
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Tea Lounge to expand to Middle East
“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.
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Burger-Loving Kuwait Becomes Oasis For U.S. Franchises: Retail
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
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Tea Lounge expanding to the Middle East
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.”
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Tea Lounge CEO on hiring and firing
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.
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Park Slope's Tea Lounge may become international chain
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.
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Can a Sense of Community Be Duplicated?What it really comes down to is tapping into Speil’s experience in opening and closing businesses. “There’s the Franchise fee," he explained. "There are capital costs. But really, if you are going to get into the restaurant business, you need to learn how to not get screwed by a plumber, or to not spend thousands on a piece of equipment that sucks. The franchise fee is probably smaller than what you’ll spend figuring things out on your own.”
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Tea Lounge in the Wall Street Journal"Cafe's Modesty Is Offensive to Some" Read more
a. This information is not intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, a franchise. It is for information purposes only. There are approximately 14 countries and 15 US states that regulate the offer and sale of franchises. The countries are Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada (provinces of Alberta and Ontario), China, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain, and the United States of America. The US states are California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. If you are a resident of one of these states or countries, are receiving this message in one of these states or countries, or intend to operate a franchise in any of these states or countries, we will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have complied with any applicable pre-sale registration and/or disclosure requirements in the applicable jurisdiction.
b. This offering is not an offering of a franchise. In New York (USA), an offering of a franchise can only be made by a prospectus that has been previously filed and registered with the Department of Law of the State of New York. The application for registration of an offering prospectus or the acceptance and filing thereof by the Department of Law as required by the New York law does not constitute approval of the offering or the sale of such franchise by the Department of Law or the attorney general of New York.
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