Charlotte tea lounge closing its doors after 1 year in business due to rising rent costs
About a year after opening, a beloved spot for Charlotte tea lovers to unwind and unplug over a cup of herbal tea and sweets is closing for good.
The Pauline Tea Bar & Apothecary’s newest lounge, nestled in a cozy yellow home in the Beatties Ford Road corridor, is shutting down at the end of February.
The tea lounge, named after owner Sherry Waters’ grandmother, originally opened its first location in 2019 before expanding to a second spot as part of the Historic West End Partners’ “Thrive” revitalization. But because of rising rent costs and low traffic, she said she had to make the “astute business decision to walk away.”
As first reported by Q City Metro, the Historic West End Partners — who Waters operates her tea bar under — is not renewing the lease. With the cost being “astronomically more” than what she’s currently paying, she said even keeping the space and leasing herself would just not be sustainable for her small business.
“I have an affinity for seeing that community thrive … My thought was that I was gonna be able to bring a successful business venture like the tea bar over there and that the community would be ready for it,” she told CharlotteFive.
“That was presumptive, and we tested it out for a year… and we never saw the traffic that we needed for it to be sustainable and to stay open. So it’s bittersweet.”
Waters, who worked in previous roles in that area, had high hopes for her second tea bar spot. But now, she’s looking forward to what’s to come for The Pauline Tea Bar’s flagship location — including a grant and other partnerships to expand its offerings with live music, art programming and expanded outdoor seating.
“For businesses to be sustainable, I think realizing that it’s not always necessary to expand to have more but to be laser focused on what it is that you’re doing — and who you’re serving and why you’re serving,” she said.
“We were able to expand our brand and further demonstrate our values and bring in other people that may not have known about the tea bar … I don’t regret being part of an impactful community conversation about growing the Beatties Ford Road corridor, and I think this has also shown us the strength of our resilience as a small innovative business.”
The Pauline Tea Bar & Apothecary’s Beatties Ford Road corridor location’s last day in business will be Friday, Feb. 28.
The Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecary
Location: 1017 Beatties Ford Rd Charlotte, NC 28216 (closing Feb. 28)
Location: 2326 Arty Ave, Charlotte, NC 28208
Cuisine: Loose-leaf teas, pastries, sandwiches
Instagram: @thepaulineteabar
This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 4:19 PM.
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