Hidden Gems: Meet Laura Thompson of International Tea and Coffee Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Thompson.

Hi Laura, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was in restaurant management before I started my own shop, I definitely credit that experience as helpful to my success. My husband, Germain, and I started to become very interested in bubble tea and we noticed how little of it there was in Nashville at the time. We would test recipes at home and occasionally would go look at commercial spaces for rent. I became really unhappy with the company I was with, we had sold to another similar concept and the food went from all made from scratch to coming out of bags, and I was randomly searching commercial spaces for rent when I found the jewel. Honestly, they listed the lease on Craigslist and when I saw East Nashville and the price, I thought for sure it was a scam…but it wasn’t. However, the space was only 300 square feet. That was the kicker and to be quite honest, the square footage being on such a small side helped to shape our business that we have today. With the size of the space, I didn’t think bubble tea was possible to do, so instead we started with a fairly big selection of loose leaf tea and whole bean coffee. We opened in June of 2019 and all I had to drink was hot tea and hot coffee. You can imagine just how well that went over! So we evolved, added in an ice machine, kept adding in as many local goods that related into the store as possible, added a ton more loose leaf options until we got it to where it is today. There’s really no more room left on any of our shelves anymore.

We also had the tornado aftermath (thankfully, we sustained minor damage and were only without power for about a week) and then BAM Covid-19 hit. At this time, we were less than a year old and I think if we didn’t act as quickly as we had, we wouldn’t be open today. As soon as we realized this was going to be a “thing” (little did we all know) we started offering free local delivery on orders of $20+ to a thirty mile radius and we put together a website too. This helped us gain new customers as people were now stuck working from home but still needed their tea and coffee. After a few months of having the storefront closed and doing delivery only, we decided to reopen but we also renovated during the downtime and started doing bubble tea finally. Once you get used to a smaller space, you figure out how to make it work better for you, to a point. Fast forward another six months and we had really outgrown the 300 square foot space and fortunately, our same landlord was building larger spaces two doors down from our space. We committed to one of the larger spaces and were expecting to have access to the space by February 1st but we know how construction goes. Finally, we have access to our new space and have already had plenty of hurdles to face but we hope to be open mid-June in the new, bigger location!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not without challenges. Even if you excluded the COVID before we turned one year old, it still wouldn’t have been easy. We started with a very minimal budget that didn’t leave room for marketing and were in a super tiny space that is not street-facing. As much as people chant “support local and support small” we have people all the time come in that live on our street that had no idea our entire shopping community is there. We have relied solely on word of mouth so it has been a very slow growth process. I would say one of the biggest struggles we have faced is being ourselves vs what the customer expects and wants you to be. You have to really stick to your gut and say we want to be successful, we want to grow, but we don’t want to end up having a shop that we don’t recognize and love anymore.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a flavor-forward tea and coffee shop that encourages people to know exactly what goes into their beverages on a regular basis. We have an extensive selection of whole bean coffee and loose leaf tea along with other locally sourced goods such as honey and elderberry syrup. Our bubble tea is 100% fake powders/syrups free and we love to help people try new things. We also love to partner with other small local businesses as much as possible, several of which are owned by women as well. Community over competition.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love that Nashville is growing and has a thriving small business community, especially in the food & beverage realm. It has been sad to see some businesses closed permanently due to COVID, but I’m so proud that so many of us have not only made it through but have improved ourselves during the struggles we’ve been through with this pandemic. Least liked thing about Nashville? Dare I say it, but Broadway area. It’s a sad representation of what the city can really offer and that’s my nice way of putting it.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.intlteaandcoffeeco.com
• Instagram: @intlteaandcoffeeco
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/teacoffeeaddiction