August 10, 2012

Interview: David Segal of DAVIDsTEA

DAVIDsTEA in NYC
With 70 stores across Canada and in New York City, DAVIDsTEA is now opening one of three planned San Francisco locations in September on 24th St. We caught up with Co-founder David Segal:

What can Noe Valley expect at the new store? And will you be serving tea as well as selling it?
Our Noe Valley store will be a clean bright space filled with colorful canisters of 150 varieties of loose leaf tea and unique blends. Customers will be greeted by enthusiastic, knowledgeable staff, who will offer free samples, and can guide them through the fun experience of exploring our teas. We sell our teas loose by the ounce for home use, accessories to easily make loose leaf tea, and a wide selection of tea gifts and variety packages. We also offer any tea hot or iced by the cup.

Noe Valley will be the 3rd or 4th location you'll open in the US. What made you chose Noe?
We look for a neighborhood that has a community feel - where people are out and about, strolling, visiting, shopping. It felt like a perfect fit for us.

You're next door to Martha & Bros which also sells tea – what should we expect from your shop that's different from what other local coffee shops offer?
We are mostly about selling loose leaf teas to take home and enjoy, in varieties that are completely exclusive to DAVIDsTEA, although our customers can enjoy a freshly made cup of hot or iced tea, in any of our 150 varieties. That makes us quite a bit different than other tea shops. We also don't serve coffee, so for those who want a cappuccino, we will happily send them next door, where we think Martha is doing a great job!

What are your plans for or thoughts about the parklet on that stretch of 24th Street?
It’s a great outdoor space where people in the community can share a pot of tea or coffee with a friend.

You've announced a tentative opening date of September 8th on Twitter. Is that still the date and will it be a soft opening or a big party?
We are planning a public opening on that date, with free tea being served all day. We hope all of Noe Valley will come on down and check us out!

DAVIDsTEA
3870 24th St
http://www.davidstea.com/
Opens September 8, 2012 (Update 9/5: the new open date is Sept 22, 2012)

[Photo: Bleecker St in NYC by JDP Architecture]

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love tea. I go to London and India and that's what I bring back home. But what I buy is not $80/500g for pedestrian blends. This will be interesting but it's probably not for the likes of me; I don't hold out hope for anything reasonable or that it will last.

Anonymous said...

Wow - I visited the new DavidsTea location on Russian Hill that just opened, and I think we are in for a treat in Noe Valley. I am a VERY discerning (not to say snobby, okay a little snobby) tea drinker and their straight teas beat out ANYTHING I have found. Like the person who posted on August 10, I have traveled to London, India, as well as outposts of China, Japan, Bhutan, Tibet,Peru. This store is simply amazing. Besides the all the zany flavors, they really know their stuff with mates, rooibos, and very fine green, white, oolongs, matcha, even pu'erh. At great prices - 25 cups worth for about 8 bucks. A bargain! The blends are very fun too. Welcome to the neightborhood. - from a Diamond St. Dweller

Anonymous said...

I believe these two comments where done by David's tea crew. I requested to see the ingredients and I was SHOCKED to see ARTIFICIAL ingredients . Please be aware!!!!!!!!!!so I just walked away from their artificial marketing bull of their low quality tea with pricey package which you will be wasting your hard earned money...