The staff make or break an experience...

Yesterday we took advantage of the good weather and headed to the beach for a picnic. Afterwards we took a drive along the coast while the kids dozed. In our travels we drove by a new-ish tea and coffee shop in Gloucester, MA called Pleasant Street Tea Company. It had great curb appeal with a big window and inviting looking furniture. I ran in and grabbed a menu so I could look it over as we drove. The place was hopping with a big party spread across the comfy couches. It looked really promising.

Later in the day we ended up back in Gloucester so I decided to grab some tea to go as well as some loose leaf to try here at the house. The decor is great. Really warm and well done. It just feels like a place you want to sit down and stay awhile. There is also a back room with additional couches and chairs. As a mom I also immediately noticed the children's toys and crayons, the high chairs, and the child-sized plastic chairs indicating that it is a very family friendly place. Kudos to the owners on that!

I ordered an organic Wuyi dark oolong for me, a decaf coffee for my husband and some loose leaf Ti Kuan Yin to take home. The woman taking my order mentioned that they do their coffee by French press which was fine with me. (Although M. later told me that it was kind of watery at first and then full of grounds in the bottom of the cup.) She seemed friendly enough so I made conversation. She told me they'd been open about a year and that business was up and down as is typical of this type of venture. We chatted a bit longer and then I asked if this was her place. (You never know, right?) Imagine my shock when her response was, "Definitely not. Things would be very different around here if it was." I don't think my chin quite hit the counter, yet let's just say it is rare that I meet employees who are quite so boldly critical of their place of employment. Curious now I asked, "If it was your place, what would you do differently?" She said, "Well I never would have put in those leather couches," which I must tell you, are all over the shop. I asked if they were hard to clean or just uncomfortable. "No. Purely for ethical and moral reasons. There are like 4 cows in each of those couches. I'm not even vegetarian and I know that's wrong." I was very ready to be out of there at that point.

I believe that she has every right to have an issue with leather and I would encourage her to take it up with the owner. HOWEVER, I think it is incredibly uncomfortable as a customer to be spending your money in a locale and having the employee criticizing it. Discussion of slaying cows while you're ordering your refreshments is also a little unsettling. Yes, I asked for details, but she opened the door with by making clear she had problems with the way things were done.

I won't rate the tea since it was in a to go cup, brewed for an indeterminate amount of time, and I had a bad taste in my mouth from the experience.

That being said, I would give this place a shot again in the future. They serve 50 types of MEM Imports tea, as well as tea lattes, coffee and coffee drinks, and other beverages. They do have afternoon tea (served all day). The food gets great reviews as well and included soups, salads, baked goods, and some interesting looking sandwiches. And, as I said, it looked REALLY comfortable, leather couches and all.

Like I said, the staff can make or break any experience...