New tea café + bistro with craft craft cocktails & oysters opening this summer
Mayra Betances tried everything to get into a true, relaxing, calming state. Yoga didn’t necessarily work, and either did meditating.
What was the magic trick to inner peace? “Making tea,” Betances laughed.
During the pandemic, while we were all searching for ways to remain calm, Betances made tea kits for her friends and family. Not only were here dried hibiscus teas a way to relax others, but, “Purchasing the ingredients, mixing the spices and cloves, brewing the tea – the entire ritual made me relax, too,” she explained.
After trying her tea creations, her friends and family encouraged her to start selling it. And she did just that. Her brand, Teas Your Spirits, has been selling out pop-up after pop-up, where customers enjoy her bright colored teas, jams, bottled fusions, syrups, and loose tea blends.
Betances’ tremendous success at her pop-ups at Worthington Market and Hilliard Farm Market, which she said has been essential in her growth, made her realize that she needed her own space. “People started asking me where my storefront was, and I thought, ‘Wow, maybe I do need a store of my own.’”
And so, that’s exactly what she’s doing. Her new tea cafe + bistro, Teas Your Spirits, is opening early this summer in the heart of Old Hilliard, at 5286 Center St.! The cafe will offer breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner options, as well as craft teas, tea infused cocktails and mocktails, and coffee.
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Betances is Dominican, and her partner and chef is Bolivian, so some of the menu will definitely reflect their love of their culture. Guests can expect a typical Dominican brunch called Mofongo, with a shrimp and chicharones options, made with sticky plantains, plus a Dominican version of Johnny Cakes. They’ll also offer buttermilk waffles, cinnamon French toast, smoked salmon, avocado toast, breakfast burritos, pastries, and much more.
For lunch and dinner, Teas Your Spirits will offer a variety soups, salads, paninis, veggie, cheese, & charcuterie platters, and even flatbreads, pizzas, and empanadas. Betances’ favorite salad is the watermelon salad, with feta, olives, mint, tomatoes, and watermelon of course. They’re planning on fun oyster nights, as well.
All of that can be paired with a craft cocktail or mocktail with Betances’ own incorporated tea blend. Think: turmeric Hot Toddy’s, Hibiscus tea margaritas, Mama Juana (a Dominican elixir with Dominican rum, roots, and spices), and butterfly pea flower tea with gin. They’ll also serve coffee from a local roaster.
The tea artist has lived in Hilliard ever since moving here from New Jersey, and she said she loves the small town charm in Old Hilliard. “I’ve always wanted a business here in Old Hilliard – I just didn’t know it would be a restaurant and a cafe!” she said. “When the opportunity came to open the tea house in Old Hilliard, I didn’t hesitate. I never doubted the fact that I want it here and that it’s a great opportunity.”
She also started the Hilliard nonprofit called Create Happy Moments, which focuses on cultural exchanges and helping others connect with more people of different cultural backgrounds in Hilliard. Seasonal brunches are a popular part of the nonprofit, and they’ll now take place at her new cafe. The first one at the new tea house already sold out.
“People that come in the tea house won’t want to leave,” Betances joked. With cozy, whimsical decor, and a backyard with greenhouses people can dine inside, plus hammocks, raised vegetable beds, and flowers everywhere, almost reminiscent of an English garden, I think she’s absolutely right.
Teas Your Spirits is planning on being open for service Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4pm-11pm, and Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, for brunch, lunch and dinner. Those set hours are still being worked on, but stay tuned, for if everything goes as planned, you’ll be able to enjoy this magical experience for yourself sometime in June.
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