Tipple + Rose Tea Parlor and Apothecary will close Sunday, December 8, after being open for four years in Virginia-Highland, Eater Atlanta first reported.
What Now Atlanta confirmed the news on a phone call and over email with owners Calavino Donati and Doria Roberts on Monday.
According to a post shared on the Tipple + Rose Facebook page, Roberts and Donati plan to relocate and reopen in New Jersey.
They share being on the verge of moving the tea parlor into a larger space in Atlanta to celebrate its 5-year anniversary when “Life happened and put the brakes on all of that.”
In the post, the owners who have been Atlanta residents for approximately 24 years, detail a challenging year, fraught with difficulties and conflicts with personal and familial obligations that led them to make the decision to take Tipple + Rose with them up north to start from scratch in a new market.
“This entire last year has been one of the most challenging and left us questioning what we really wanted, not just for our business, but for ourselves,” according to the post.
Tipple + Rose opened at 806 North Highland Avenue in the summer of 2015 as a full-service tea shop with more than 100 teas, a ‘sniffing bar’ for learning about the aromatics of tea, a private tearoom for workshops and tea ceremonies, and an apothecary with soaps, bitters, syrups, and drinking vinegars.
The tea shop also served up a variety of breakfast and lunch fare like biscuits, croissants, quiche, and scones.
“For Tipple to stay it was really about staffing and then funding that staffing since I do all the baking, booking, social media, websites, etc. and Calavino does all the cooking,” shared Roberts in the email.
“We cover about 10 jobs between us and have literally been working alone since April except for special events. If we had the funds to replace ourselves with dedicated stewards and move across country while keeping the price point of our goods comparable to what they are now, we could have kept it open in some capacity.”
Their online portal will soon relaunch so Atlanta customers can still get their favorite loose leaf teas, tea accessories like bags, tea balls, and housemade apothecary fixes, Roberts continued.
“Tipple’s teas will also be available in other stores around town but those details have not been solidified.”
Their two other Atlanta concepts, Urban Cannibals Bodega and Bites on 368 5th St NE, and Madre + Mason next door will remain open.
“Madre + Urban Cannibals are staying put and will be employee run as they have been for the last six months and, yes, we’re looking to duplicate those concepts in New Jersey once we secure funding for them so there’s no timeline.”
