April 16, 2007
Reading tea leaves | A chat with Jessica Gorton, founder of Sweet Leaves Teahouse in Brunswick.
Founded: October 2006
Employees: Gorton, one full-time employee and 11 part-timers
Startup costs: $61,000
Projected revenue, year one: $250,000
Projected revenue, year two: $500,000
Contact: 725-1376
22 Pleasant St., Brunswick 04011
www.sweetleaves.com
What do you offer at your teahouse?
It is a teahouse and restaurant, with casual, full service. We offer soups, salads, panini sandwiches, entrees starting at 5 p.m. for dinner and a full range of teas, a lot of which are fair trade and organic. We focus on local, organic foods. We do some live music, as well.
How did you get the idea for this place?
Well, I really like tea and I really like herbs. My dad's in real estate in New York and I was talking to him one day and I said, "If you want to develop someplace, the best place to buy would be midcoast Maine [because] it's got great growth in terms of real estate development." He said, "Well, what would you do?" And I said, "What about tea?" So we bought this building and did a big renovation. As we started doing that I developed my business plan. I was really interested in serving local foods to the local crowd.
What did you do before you opened the teahouse?
I [had] a job at a local café, I worked at L.L. Bean for a season and I taught voice lessons very briefly. And I was working for my dad part-time, doing real estate stuff for him. When we took over the building, I [became] the foreman for the construction process.
When did you realize you could open a restaurant?
I've worked in a lot of restaurants and cafés. I love being able to serve people a great meal, but I got to the point where I didn't want to work for somebody else. There are definitely aspects of it that I wouldn't have realized would take up so much time, in terms of the bookkeeping and inventory.
How did you learn about running a business?
By the seat of my pants, a lot of it. I read a lot ˆ I got a book on writing a business plan. That was the hardest part for me. Coming up with the colors and the lighting was easy, but figuring out how much I'm going to do in sales when I haven't even opened yet was really hard. I asked for advice from people I knew who had done this sort of thing before.
What about startup funding?
My father has really helped me a lot with that. Anybody who can do it on their own and get loans I have a lot of respect for because it's a hard business to make solvent in the first year. I'm starting to see how much more we have to do to be profitable. We have a little ways to go, but the summer's coming.
Why did you decide to open in October?
The original plan was to open in late spring, but the construction took a lot longer than we had hoped. Although in some ways, it's valuable to have a slower time of year to get everybody trained and work out all the menu glitches.
How do you get the word out?
A lot of it originally was word of mouth. When we did our opening weekend we had an open house, we gave away a lot of food and we had some music and just invited the locals to see the place and try everything. I've been doing a little advertising, as well, in the Coastal Journal, and I've done donations for raffles. We're looking into doing some direct advertising at some local hotels this summer, too.
Is buying local and organic foods more expensive?
It can be. I try to keep our prices reasonable, but they are a little more expensive than what you'd pay at a local sandwich shop, for example. But I do try to focus the language in the menu on the fact that we are using local foods. I think in the end people are willing to spend a little bit more, knowing that they're using their money to buy something fresher, and that the money is staying in the community.
What are your plans for the future?
I'm buying some shelves so I can do a little more retail. I'd like to sell some tea accoutrements like teapots and infusers. We are doing a second phase renovation, as well. We're going have a lot more storage space, a lot more refrigeration, a little office downstairs. My guess is it will be done by the middle of June.
Employees: Gorton, one full-time employee and 11 part-timers
Startup costs: $61,000
Projected revenue, year one: $250,000
Projected revenue, year two: $500,000
Contact: 725-1376
22 Pleasant St., Brunswick 04011
www.sweetleaves.com
What do you offer at your teahouse?
It is a teahouse and restaurant, with casual, full service. We offer soups, salads, panini sandwiches, entrees starting at 5 p.m. for dinner and a full range of teas, a lot of which are fair trade and organic. We focus on local, organic foods. We do some live music, as well.
How did you get the idea for this place?
Well, I really like tea and I really like herbs. My dad's in real estate in New York and I was talking to him one day and I said, "If you want to develop someplace, the best place to buy would be midcoast Maine [because] it's got great growth in terms of real estate development." He said, "Well, what would you do?" And I said, "What about tea?" So we bought this building and did a big renovation. As we started doing that I developed my business plan. I was really interested in serving local foods to the local crowd.
What did you do before you opened the teahouse?
I [had] a job at a local café, I worked at L.L. Bean for a season and I taught voice lessons very briefly. And I was working for my dad part-time, doing real estate stuff for him. When we took over the building, I [became] the foreman for the construction process.
When did you realize you could open a restaurant?
I've worked in a lot of restaurants and cafés. I love being able to serve people a great meal, but I got to the point where I didn't want to work for somebody else. There are definitely aspects of it that I wouldn't have realized would take up so much time, in terms of the bookkeeping and inventory.
How did you learn about running a business?
By the seat of my pants, a lot of it. I read a lot ˆ I got a book on writing a business plan. That was the hardest part for me. Coming up with the colors and the lighting was easy, but figuring out how much I'm going to do in sales when I haven't even opened yet was really hard. I asked for advice from people I knew who had done this sort of thing before.
What about startup funding?
My father has really helped me a lot with that. Anybody who can do it on their own and get loans I have a lot of respect for because it's a hard business to make solvent in the first year. I'm starting to see how much more we have to do to be profitable. We have a little ways to go, but the summer's coming.
Why did you decide to open in October?
The original plan was to open in late spring, but the construction took a lot longer than we had hoped. Although in some ways, it's valuable to have a slower time of year to get everybody trained and work out all the menu glitches.
How do you get the word out?
A lot of it originally was word of mouth. When we did our opening weekend we had an open house, we gave away a lot of food and we had some music and just invited the locals to see the place and try everything. I've been doing a little advertising, as well, in the Coastal Journal, and I've done donations for raffles. We're looking into doing some direct advertising at some local hotels this summer, too.
Is buying local and organic foods more expensive?
It can be. I try to keep our prices reasonable, but they are a little more expensive than what you'd pay at a local sandwich shop, for example. But I do try to focus the language in the menu on the fact that we are using local foods. I think in the end people are willing to spend a little bit more, knowing that they're using their money to buy something fresher, and that the money is staying in the community.
What are your plans for the future?
I'm buying some shelves so I can do a little more retail. I'd like to sell some tea accoutrements like teapots and infusers. We are doing a second phase renovation, as well. We're going have a lot more storage space, a lot more refrigeration, a little office downstairs. My guess is it will be done by the middle of June.
Interview by Kerry Elson
New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to kelson@mainebiz.biz.
New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to kelson@mainebiz.biz.
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