Drink Me! Tea Room, Melissa H.
I believe I was able to launch a new business and survive the pandemic with guidance from programs offered by SCORE. The training and mentoring I received helped me with hiring employees and improving everyday operations.
Drink Me! Tea Room is a unique experience providing Tempe with a charming and magical tea escape. Our themed afternoon tea room is vegan, plant-based, organic, and gluten-free, which sets us apart from other tea rooms and eateries. Guests enjoy allergen-friendly chef confections, organic teas, and local spirits to celebrate and connect with family and friends. Although we are an "Alice in Wonderland" inspired tea room, we also offer special themed events throughout the year, like our Winter Wonderland theme. We also love connecting and partnering with other local businesses and our community. We host happy hour events with a local distillery and fundraising events for the community.
I was inspired on my trip to London where my family and I enjoyed afternoon tea on multiple occasions. Inspiration struck! I began writing the business plan on the flight home.
Drink Me! Tea Room is a unicorn! We may be the only tea room with a dedicated organic, gluten-free, and plant-based tea experience. The themed tea events, modern décor, Special cocktails, amazing team members and wonderful experiences are just icing on the shortbread. The Alice and Wonderland theme of the tea room has inspired the development of the food and cocktail menus, the retail items and merchandise we sell and the marketing we create.
I attended a small business training at the library and online searches brought me to SCORE.
SCORE made a difference because it gave me resources to ask questions regarding HR and legal matters relevant to my business. The mentor program helped me create a strategic plan to get the business started and keep it on track. I appreciated having a resource where I could ask questions on any topic. If my coach didn't know the answer, she would find someone in the network to find it. The "Grow with Google" online workshop series helped me improve my website and grow my web presence.
Julie possesses a wealth of diverse business experience and knowledge that I could identify with. She holds me accountable in many ways including goal setting and strategic planning.
