Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Lyttle.
Hi Scott, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Tea Zaanti is a European-style tea and wine cafe located in the heart of Sugar House with a focus on building communi-TEA. Becky (my wife) and I have owned and operated Tea Zaanti for four and half years. We ran the shop solely as a small cozy tea shop for three years when we decided we wanted to expand on the concept and add more food items and a wine program. So, we purchased our new home in Sept 2019 and spent six months rehabbing the house that was built in 1896. We finally got everything done, we got all our permits and opened our doors on March 11, 2020, and closed our doors on March 14, 2020, with the onset of the pandemic. We took a second to cry and then re-focused our energy on online sales and working to keep our staff employed. Ever since we’ve slowly been focusing on our goal of building a communi-TEA, with music on our patio, local artists on our walls, wine events, and even started a monthly Drag Show. It’s exciting to see the neighborhood embracing our unique concept and coming together.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It’s hard to define smooth road, but all things considered, it’s been smooth enough. We’ve stayed open, kept our staff employed and paid all our bills. Was it the first year and a half that we forecasted and planned out on paper – nope, but we are slowly moving forward and get glimpses of what we picture Tea Zaanti becoming. I think the biggest struggles with regard to Covid are figuring out what we are comfortable with, what our staff is comfortable with, and what our guests are comfortable with. We stayed pretty conservative throughout primarily because our business didn’t necessitate us to take risks to pay bills.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
After I graduated from St Joseph’s University in Philadelphia with my MBA, I started a 17-year career in non-profit management focusing on fundraising and marketing. The whole time staying tied to the restaurant and service industry by waiting tables on weekends, etc. I’ve always had a passion for the industry, my parents have always love exploring the restaurant scene and are amazing cooks with an interest in wine, so the passion came naturally. Becky was also in non-profit for a similar amount of time, she made the move to for-profit which somewhat afforded us the opportunity to seek a passion project, and Tea Zaanti kind of fell into our lap… Since taking over Tea Zaanti, I’d honestly say I have no idea what I do, specialize in – a little bit of everything, creative marketing, menu planning, staff training and organizing, and generally focused on creating energy at the shop! Tea Zaanti is obviously known for our outstanding tea selection, but more and more we are known for our vibe as a community asset. Our vibe and approach set us apart!
How do you define success?
I define success by positive energy from staff and customers and seeing folks enjoy our space. The energy is what gets me out of bed in the morning and keeps me moving for 12-hour shifts.
Contact Info:
- Email: scott@teazaanti.com
- Website: https://www.teazaanti.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teazaanti/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeaZaanti
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tea-zaanti-salt-lake-city-4
