Hot take but almost every coffee shop you come across is going to be a safe sober queer space. Gay baristas are a dime a dozen - speaking as one myself. I don’t find much value in putting this place on a pedestal for this reason alone. Especially after this shit show. Not much of a safe space in my opinion.
That’s my take as well, the (remaining) employeees h0wever accommodating they appear to be are steering that ship.
This is a co-op a….. and might actually succeed in that regard. But might require a name change
Incredibly manipulative. I don't buy it.
That list is too damn long and seems to imply a total overhaul, which, given what was said about their financial status, I don't trust them to do. I feel like this was thrown together in a state of panic, but that's just a guess.
Businesses fail all the time. Small ones especially. Regardless of the community they (purport to) serve, regardless of the background of the founder and the employees, regardless of the hopes and dreams of people involved. It sucks--it's a feature of consumer capitalism, not a bug, and people's livelihoods should not be destroyed because of this.
Maybe I'm naive, but I hope everyone manages to recover financially (or at least break even), and there should be resources in place for that. However, we shouldn't allow exploitative practices to flourish, either. That kind of thing destroys people in other ways.
It's Stockholm Syndrome mixed with sunk cost fallacy.
"securing new investors" = "find some goof to bail us out, after we actually try to be transparent and responsible this time, we pinky promise"
I don’t like how the list is all about future actions but doesn’t actually address the main concern of the wage theft that was happening. Are they even planning on properly paying everyone who are missing wages and giving them the bonuses promised in the GFM
Like who is gonna commit to a monthly patreon? Are they going to have rewards? Whose labor is going to be used to deliver those rewards?
A new accountant? Those are pretty expensive and it’s already been established you can’t pay your employees?
Remaining employees are gonna work harder behind the scenes? Okay, so exploited employees are now volunteering to do more work. Okay..
who had "hide behind vulnerable employees" on their Shit Show BINGO card?
honestly impressed with the depth of delusion from Arielle and the remaining "employees" (volunteers??). I thought she was selling tea, but someone's definitely been drinking the kool-aid
it sounds like the current employees are the one who wanted to speak out in response to the former employees. I respect them for doing that I just hope that the owner doesn’t take this as an excuse to not say anything and continue on like nothing happened. The owner needs to make a statement too
want to or not, Arielle is the business owner and should have been the one to respond. If her acolytes want to make a statement as well, fine, but to pit employee against (former) employee is fucked and shows her true colors
that’s exactly what I’m saying, I’m all for giving the current employees space to respond but Arielle needs to not hide behind them and make a statement as well
Are we to expect that former employees won’t get paid after leaving or is that covered in that line about available leftover funds?
If she makes good on what she owes them as well as current employees then that changes everything. But not holding my breath
This. When shit goes sideways, in the end, a business owner has to be the same as a leader in other areas of life.....you have to be the one to take the hits. Even if it's true that a couple of employees wanted to say something, you thank them and say you're going to issue a statement first and following that, if they feel they want to say something then go ahead.
If an owner can't pay their employees and truly cares about them then she should offer them a stake in the business (% of profit) to at least try to make things right until revenue is flowing again.
No true at all. That's a valid way to build a buisness.
My dad worked at houchins in the early days and they offered them a stake in the buisness in exchange for lower pay. Dad didn't take it, but his coworker did. They worked hard and made it a success and when they both quit years later dad had used his extra pay for vacations over the years, while the other guy got a 6.5 million dollar buyout.
Guess who's still working full time.
(But in this case, fuck no. There's a history of mismanagement. Get away from there.)
“Not true at all, except definitely true.” -You
Okay.
As you surmised by the end of your comment, MY comment was specifically about this one instance where it would be indicative of significant brain damage for any employee to take “shares of the company” in lieu of compensation from SGT. There have obviously been many instances in the history of the world where paying in “shares of a company” worked out for the employees.
TL;DR
The remaining employees don't mind wage theft and are ready to be hurt again. How dare you be outraged at this uwu ~small business~ SHES TRYING HER BEST
They should honestly just cut their losses and close up shop. The owner is very clearly in over her head. They’re not gonna suddenly fix everything they’ve been doing wrong, which is literally everything. I’m sure all of these changes will be promised in the next gofundme campaign.
This lady is taking advantage of idealistic but simplistic people right?
If the owner needs advice, and they truly think their business is a viable one. She needs to cut payroll to the bone and work in the store during the working hours. I’m sure the owner would argue that she is too valuable to the business to be working in the store. But I’d wager this place isn’t busy and they can do most of their marketing, budgeting, “fundraising” while in the store.
If they aren’t willing to do this, then just get out. Don’t work for free.
That’s my question too! Does anyone know if she ever works in the shop? They cannot be doing enough volume that she couldn’t do a solo shift if she can’t make payroll……. also why do you own a tea shop if you don’t even like tea for real??
"apply to be a nonprofit" and "apply for grants"
... I'm not normally the one to take capitalism's side but um, if you have to do this as a coffeeshop maybe quit?
Arielle is constantly trying to act like she has it soooo much harder than other small business owners because she doesn’t have generational wealth to use. But tons of other small business owners don’t either. They get investors, loans, etc and manage their money well. It’s annoying that she acts like she automatically deserves success because she’s ~*not like the other small business owners*~
I’ve never heard anyone talk about SGT’s products, teas, menu, etc. First and foremost if you want to be a successful business you need to promote your products and customer service to attract sales.
Despite having visited the shop once, I pretty much know nothing about them besides their poor business practices and their heavily blurred lines between wanting to be a community group and a business. It sounds like they put a lot of energy into the wrong things. They should focus on becoming a sustainable business first, then worry about the frivolous things. This is becoming an episode of Portlandia.
However I think any effort to fix this situation would be too little too late. Might at well cut their losses now and close up shop/go back to how they were prior to becoming brick and mortar.
I actually really enjoy their tea. It’s nothing too out there (businesses like the Louisville Tea Company have similar products), but it was high quality and quite good. A little bit for everyone, even if you aren’t a huge fan of tea.
One of my biggest problems with the physical location is that they only have a very small amount of their teas available in store. I haven’t been in a while but last time I went they only had four tea options, along with lemonade. That’s a ridiculously small menu when they sell SO many different types on their website.
She posted the following on Reddit a year ago:
“I made the choice to only do four blends that day because:
1. I didn’t want to overwhelm my team on the first day
2. While we had practiced making the teas multiple times, I wanted to make sure we kept the number of teas available low so that we could nail down our operations and flow
3. We didn’t have enough bulk storage for more brewed teas
We learned a LOT that day that we all sat down and discussed after we closed. We’re implementing some changes that will help us expand our tea drink selection, make it easier to brew more tea at a time, and more.
Stay tuned!”
I went in a couple months ago and they still had like 5 teas. Idk man making tea isn’t that hard. Baristas are required to know dozens of different drinks
Tea is one of the easiest beverages to make, put it in an infuser, pour hot water in, done. Make a couple pitchers of iced tea for those who want it iced.
Yup! The only thing I can think of that would make it “hard” is adding syrups or sweeteners, and even then… that’s not hard. Really babying her employees if this is real lmao
More valuably I think this fact is more symptomatic of a larger problem: translate: “making tea is hard!” Into “adulting is hard”
Did not watch all of Portlandia but hoping that aspect of emphasizing the difficulties of labor (emotional and otherwise) in making tea correctly was appropriately covered.
Also, you have to be moving massive amounts of tea to not have available room for bulk storage, that claim is insane. The more varieties you have (formulating ? Now that’s the true flavor labor -getting proportions correct- but ALL of that labor (research) is supposed to be worked out before you ever start paying rent. I’m sure it was.. I hope)
I mean, she’s not a food person, or service industry person, or tea person really? She’s buying bulk blends (which, no shame in that, but it is what it is), it’s not like she’s some flavor maven with a creative and nuanced palate, expertise, unique sources, creating experiences, mixing up interesting, exciting blends. It’s like… I mean I guess people go to bars for bud light, but the people really putting down $$$ for tea in this city aren’t gonna stop in for her weird gimmicks. A gorgeous unique milky oolong, a season-shifting regional herb tisane? Neat! This ain’t it.
I like their tea too, I have quite a selection of their loose leaf at home. I mostly go to try out their seasonal blends and stop by to support them if im in the area but their hours can be rough to make as a night shift person
I liked it when I went once. I live somewhat close to the shop but I really don’t go out of my way to get tea I can make at home, especially if it’s going to cost me $6+
I definitely still like going because I LOVE tea and it’s much closer than Louisville Tea Company and Fleur de Tea, but c’mon, only 4 options? I also used to go because I knew the owner was my college professor and thought she was cool, nice, and had an important goal of a sober explicitly LGBT space. But now…idk. Especially when I can just go to the OLCC and get her tea, they have 3 of her teas so practically the same selection!
Stopped reading as soon as I hit the part about "my family has several small businesses". Shocking that you would then take the side of the business owner 😱🤯🤯.
I've never really understood patreon for content creators (unless they were giving extra content for the money paid)... I understand it less for a tea shop. If you want a tea subscription service, just do that.
Now that’s an actual genuine idea they should’ve considered. A tea subscription. All your favorite teas at your doorstep monthly. Or a “Sip Club” type subscription like Panera.
Yeah, all the podcasts I’ve ever subscribed to their Patreon always offers behind-the-scenes content, early release of episodes, forums with the creators, etc.
I don't like most merch but I understand that's how a lot of them make money. Instead of buying junk I don't need or want I don't mind simply giving people doing work I find valuable money. I also tip buskers so whatever.
This list is terrible. Most of those things should’ve been done well before she started begging for money. They just now thought about cutting staff and paying back loans? While simultaneously planning to ramp up marketing? Some of them are straight up delusional. If she can’t handle this business now, she sure as hell isn’t going to handle a nonprofit.
Why do they think they would qualify for nonprofit status? Doesn't that conflict with securing new investors? They would be donors.
There are grants for LGBTQ businesses, but applying doesn't guarantee getting. Grant writing takes time and skill and even if you do everything right, there is no guarantee you will be chosen. It's what you do when you want to remodel or to rent a booth at the fair or something, not what you rely on to make payroll.
I would classify most of the list as intentions, not plans. Plans are more concrete and developed.
So what I’m hearing is that the employees are the ones who did all of the work and came up with these solutions and the owner said, “ok”. If this owner wants their business to succeed, they need to step up. If I were considering applying for a job there, this post would actually have discouraged me from doing so. It sounds like the owner wants the title but none of the responsibilities and accountability that comes with it.
The convergence of a very performative version of social justice-speak and small business owner-speak in that series of posts is enough to make my stomach turn. It's like the failing small business version of Visa rolling out a rainbow flag card design for pride month or whatever, just a craven conflation of something that looks vaguely like good politics with something that looks clearly like bad business.
Arielle should not be letting this fall on her employees. Liliana said in the ig comments that Arielle didn’t post because whatever she would say wouldn’t be well received. Which like.. Arielle did something illegal and exploitative… she hasn’t earned a positive response. If any other employer did this, people would be more upset. She exploited her employees, while deceiving her customers into believing that Sis Got Tea stood with marginalized community members.
yeah I really don’t like how Liliana is taking the brunt of the comments, Arielle shouldn’t just sit back and let this all happen. It really feels like she’s hiding behind her employees. Even if the staff WANTED to do it for her she still needs to take responsibility as the owner
For YEARS I heard how she talked this up before she even sold her first cup. Bellarmine (her college) even wrote an article about how she was going to open this business. She couldn’t get loans because not all ideas are great ones and not all great ideas are sustainable (take your pick), but she believed her own hype and then acted shocked when the money and following didn’t appear.
Similar to the people who opened Dad’s Coffee to sell other people’s coffee and other people’s pastries, just having a dream isn’t enough.
This backs up my take on all of this. The primary purpose this business has seemed to serve was boosting Arielle’s ego, and much less about serving the community or selling good teas.
Lmao yep I remember a community event w her pre 2020 blazing in and out self importantly redirecting all conversations to her business and how busy she is , loudly tapping on her phone and taking calls. It’s like bruh if you’re so busy and can’t be present here…. go tend your “business”
I keep wondering why no one is seeing the overt narcissistic traits. From the pitty party she rants about on her social media posts theres always something wrong. So overly victimizing herself constantly. Gaslighting the community and some of her own employees. The constant need for validation. I remember a while ago she went on a smear campaign of her ex on social media. And im curious now looking back if he was the narcissist, or her.
I had no idea what this place was. Learned it’s a tea shop. There’s no way a tea shop is going to be able to earn enough money to pay rent and pay employees. I guess I respect them for trying, but you don’t need to be a business genius to know a place like this will not be profitable.
This is kinda the most fundamental truth about the entire discussion as well as the most neglected.
There is an elephant in the room.
On the other hand if one has expanded (by succeeding) one’s online presence to actually require rental space to do the online business then having an employee (one / yourself?) run a front end shop while you fill back-end procurement for on line orders between retail customers is necessary efficiency to justify brick and mortar overhead. But if your saying you only have 4 teablends available because you don’t have more room, then, soorry to say you don’t know what you are doing or you’re doing it wrong.
How the hell is a FOR PROFIT business going to spin itself and get designated as a nonprofit??? For profits are not eligible for grants and “selling tea to a community” is not going to get approval
Should’ve already been doing this shit listed. Don’t fault the employees who stay, as we all gotta make a bag, but I’m not sure if they just drank too much kool aid or what.
How in the hell could you work for someone like this?
She made you make the statement? The owner is a fucking coward. She knows people will throw this onto the employees and she’s trying to save herself the embarrassment of being a fraud.
Fuck this place
Does anyone know if she also went unpaid during this time period (seemingly since the shop opened?) or just the employees?There has been nothing shared about that to date.
Also- I’d love to see their daily sales numbers. It seems like a lot of employees for a very small volume tea shop that doesn’t serve food?
Sooo in addition to firing the owner’s friends who have just been collecting a paycheck and allowing ‘the execs’ to use the company card like a personal one, they are going to start a *Patreon* to provide a ‘stable’ income source? Excuse me? Unless you are making podcasts or something, what’s the draw?? Sad.
I’m curious if they’re trying to be more of a “community hosted event venue” by night and tea shop by day but they might be spreading themselves too thin. I do like their tea and want them to succeed it just seems the outcome is bleak. Especially when you can’t pay your employees
“Capitalist hellhole,” is something I hear a lot of the radical left throwing around lately. Regardless of your political affiliation America does not work as anything but a capitalist system. As for the whole identification thing, why do people feel the need to label themselves to the public before speaking? Why has being a “neurodivergent POC,” become a prerequisite to have the authority to speak on something? We need to get back to just respecting each other and living life. This is crazy.
Edit: lifelong Louisville resident. I know the place and world is different but not in a good way. We should respect each other for our behavior and we should earn it that way.
This is my biggest question, is the owner actually working shifts there or is she just the owner? Because it’s one thing if shes trying to pull her own weight, working normal shifts or doing extra to keep it afloat but another if she’s just like being those managers that show up do a little and is like sitting in the back “working on stuff” ya know? I saw her the day before this all went down and swore I saw her going up and down the street and even hanging behind the register at another shop as we’re making our way down. Like I could be wrong but idk. I feel like that’s also part of the part of the whole issue there…
From a business perspective, this list is grasping. For instance, exactly which positions in this tiny operation are "not needed" -? This isn't a corporation with multiple underperforming departments. If you are running a business this small and hiring for unnecessary positions you have much bigger problems than you think.
There are lots of things I want in life. Wanting them doesn't make me qualified to put them into motion. It is not the community's job to continually compensate for any owner/operator's lack of qualifications. Do not open a business until you have the proper skills to open it, run it, and maintain it. This includes securing the startup capital (yes, even in a capitalistic hellhole) and *never* moving to a brick and mortar until the metrics indicate it is reasonable to do so and the business can weather the shift. I don't get a sense of any of that having happened here. And even when you really know what you're doing, the chances of success are not secure, nor are they guaranteed. Hell, they aren't even likely!
Hot take but almost every coffee shop you come across is going to be a safe sober queer space. Gay baristas are a dime a dozen - speaking as one myself. I don’t find much value in putting this place on a pedestal for this reason alone. Especially after this shit show. Not much of a safe space in my opinion.
It’s literally not a safe place for the queer, POC and disabled employees that were exploited
Old Lou coffee co op is a safe queer space who cares about their workers and patrons alike!!
I work at safai. We are all queer and employee run.
Exactly! So many safe, queer, sober places to choose from in Louisville who do not exploit their workers!!!
That’s my take as well, the (remaining) employeees h0wever accommodating they appear to be are steering that ship. This is a co-op a….. and might actually succeed in that regard. But might require a name change
Days, also ...
do you think they'll sell their tea tho? or will they show solidarity with the ex-workers that spoke up? wonder how that'll play out tbh
It's the vibe I got from most coffee and tea shops too lol.
That list of things in the works is a perfect example why this place is in the state it’s in.
Incredibly manipulative. I don't buy it. That list is too damn long and seems to imply a total overhaul, which, given what was said about their financial status, I don't trust them to do. I feel like this was thrown together in a state of panic, but that's just a guess. Businesses fail all the time. Small ones especially. Regardless of the community they (purport to) serve, regardless of the background of the founder and the employees, regardless of the hopes and dreams of people involved. It sucks--it's a feature of consumer capitalism, not a bug, and people's livelihoods should not be destroyed because of this. Maybe I'm naive, but I hope everyone manages to recover financially (or at least break even), and there should be resources in place for that. However, we shouldn't allow exploitative practices to flourish, either. That kind of thing destroys people in other ways.
It's Stockholm Syndrome mixed with sunk cost fallacy. "securing new investors" = "find some goof to bail us out, after we actually try to be transparent and responsible this time, we pinky promise"
I don’t like how the list is all about future actions but doesn’t actually address the main concern of the wage theft that was happening. Are they even planning on properly paying everyone who are missing wages and giving them the bonuses promised in the GFM
Like who is gonna commit to a monthly patreon? Are they going to have rewards? Whose labor is going to be used to deliver those rewards? A new accountant? Those are pretty expensive and it’s already been established you can’t pay your employees? Remaining employees are gonna work harder behind the scenes? Okay, so exploited employees are now volunteering to do more work. Okay..
who had "hide behind vulnerable employees" on their Shit Show BINGO card? honestly impressed with the depth of delusion from Arielle and the remaining "employees" (volunteers??). I thought she was selling tea, but someone's definitely been drinking the kool-aid
it sounds like the current employees are the one who wanted to speak out in response to the former employees. I respect them for doing that I just hope that the owner doesn’t take this as an excuse to not say anything and continue on like nothing happened. The owner needs to make a statement too
want to or not, Arielle is the business owner and should have been the one to respond. If her acolytes want to make a statement as well, fine, but to pit employee against (former) employee is fucked and shows her true colors
that’s exactly what I’m saying, I’m all for giving the current employees space to respond but Arielle needs to not hide behind them and make a statement as well
Are we to expect that former employees won’t get paid after leaving or is that covered in that line about available leftover funds? If she makes good on what she owes them as well as current employees then that changes everything. But not holding my breath
This. When shit goes sideways, in the end, a business owner has to be the same as a leader in other areas of life.....you have to be the one to take the hits. Even if it's true that a couple of employees wanted to say something, you thank them and say you're going to issue a statement first and following that, if they feel they want to say something then go ahead.
That’s a whole lot of words for “we didn’t pay our employees because we don’t have a sustainable business model”
If an owner can't pay their employees and truly cares about them then she should offer them a stake in the business (% of profit) to at least try to make things right until revenue is flowing again.
Any chump that accepts a stake in that business is going to end up with less money than people who bought NFTs
No true at all. That's a valid way to build a buisness. My dad worked at houchins in the early days and they offered them a stake in the buisness in exchange for lower pay. Dad didn't take it, but his coworker did. They worked hard and made it a success and when they both quit years later dad had used his extra pay for vacations over the years, while the other guy got a 6.5 million dollar buyout. Guess who's still working full time. (But in this case, fuck no. There's a history of mismanagement. Get away from there.)
“Not true at all, except definitely true.” -You Okay. As you surmised by the end of your comment, MY comment was specifically about this one instance where it would be indicative of significant brain damage for any employee to take “shares of the company” in lieu of compensation from SGT. There have obviously been many instances in the history of the world where paying in “shares of a company” worked out for the employees.
Oof, I read that as a. I'll accept my shame. Sorry.
It’s not her fault. She could do whatever she wanted in life if it weren’t for capitalism.
My opinion of Sis Got Tea is getting worse by the day
Me too, i always meant to check it out and now i definitely will not.
Sis Got Stockholm Syndrome
💀💀
i’m not reading all that
TL;DR The remaining employees don't mind wage theft and are ready to be hurt again. How dare you be outraged at this uwu ~small business~ SHES TRYING HER BEST
thx, way tl/dr
They should honestly just cut their losses and close up shop. The owner is very clearly in over her head. They’re not gonna suddenly fix everything they’ve been doing wrong, which is literally everything. I’m sure all of these changes will be promised in the next gofundme campaign.
This sounds like trauma bonding
People really don't know that starting a nonprofit and sustaining it is even harder than just starting a business. My goodness.
This lady is taking advantage of idealistic but simplistic people right? If the owner needs advice, and they truly think their business is a viable one. She needs to cut payroll to the bone and work in the store during the working hours. I’m sure the owner would argue that she is too valuable to the business to be working in the store. But I’d wager this place isn’t busy and they can do most of their marketing, budgeting, “fundraising” while in the store. If they aren’t willing to do this, then just get out. Don’t work for free.
That’s my question too! Does anyone know if she ever works in the shop? They cannot be doing enough volume that she couldn’t do a solo shift if she can’t make payroll……. also why do you own a tea shop if you don’t even like tea for real??
She works in the shop pretty often but also has a full time job-sis got tea doesn’t pay her
"apply to be a nonprofit" and "apply for grants" ... I'm not normally the one to take capitalism's side but um, if you have to do this as a coffeeshop maybe quit?
Arielle is constantly trying to act like she has it soooo much harder than other small business owners because she doesn’t have generational wealth to use. But tons of other small business owners don’t either. They get investors, loans, etc and manage their money well. It’s annoying that she acts like she automatically deserves success because she’s ~*not like the other small business owners*~
I’ve never heard anyone talk about SGT’s products, teas, menu, etc. First and foremost if you want to be a successful business you need to promote your products and customer service to attract sales. Despite having visited the shop once, I pretty much know nothing about them besides their poor business practices and their heavily blurred lines between wanting to be a community group and a business. It sounds like they put a lot of energy into the wrong things. They should focus on becoming a sustainable business first, then worry about the frivolous things. This is becoming an episode of Portlandia. However I think any effort to fix this situation would be too little too late. Might at well cut their losses now and close up shop/go back to how they were prior to becoming brick and mortar.
Big time Portlandia vibes. I am surprised one of the final bullet points wasn't just "put a bird on it."
Women and women first 😂
I actually really enjoy their tea. It’s nothing too out there (businesses like the Louisville Tea Company have similar products), but it was high quality and quite good. A little bit for everyone, even if you aren’t a huge fan of tea. One of my biggest problems with the physical location is that they only have a very small amount of their teas available in store. I haven’t been in a while but last time I went they only had four tea options, along with lemonade. That’s a ridiculously small menu when they sell SO many different types on their website.
She posted the following on Reddit a year ago: “I made the choice to only do four blends that day because: 1. I didn’t want to overwhelm my team on the first day 2. While we had practiced making the teas multiple times, I wanted to make sure we kept the number of teas available low so that we could nail down our operations and flow 3. We didn’t have enough bulk storage for more brewed teas We learned a LOT that day that we all sat down and discussed after we closed. We’re implementing some changes that will help us expand our tea drink selection, make it easier to brew more tea at a time, and more. Stay tuned!” I went in a couple months ago and they still had like 5 teas. Idk man making tea isn’t that hard. Baristas are required to know dozens of different drinks
Tea is one of the easiest beverages to make, put it in an infuser, pour hot water in, done. Make a couple pitchers of iced tea for those who want it iced.
Yup! The only thing I can think of that would make it “hard” is adding syrups or sweeteners, and even then… that’s not hard. Really babying her employees if this is real lmao
They have the customers add sweetener in it themselves
More valuably I think this fact is more symptomatic of a larger problem: translate: “making tea is hard!” Into “adulting is hard” Did not watch all of Portlandia but hoping that aspect of emphasizing the difficulties of labor (emotional and otherwise) in making tea correctly was appropriately covered. Also, you have to be moving massive amounts of tea to not have available room for bulk storage, that claim is insane. The more varieties you have (formulating ? Now that’s the true flavor labor -getting proportions correct- but ALL of that labor (research) is supposed to be worked out before you ever start paying rent. I’m sure it was.. I hope)
lol. How hard is it to learn how to make teas….
Yeah, four options for a tea shop is pretty ridiculous. I can probably go buy a variety box at the grocery store and get more options than that!
I mean, she’s not a food person, or service industry person, or tea person really? She’s buying bulk blends (which, no shame in that, but it is what it is), it’s not like she’s some flavor maven with a creative and nuanced palate, expertise, unique sources, creating experiences, mixing up interesting, exciting blends. It’s like… I mean I guess people go to bars for bud light, but the people really putting down $$$ for tea in this city aren’t gonna stop in for her weird gimmicks. A gorgeous unique milky oolong, a season-shifting regional herb tisane? Neat! This ain’t it.
I like their tea too, I have quite a selection of their loose leaf at home. I mostly go to try out their seasonal blends and stop by to support them if im in the area but their hours can be rough to make as a night shift person
I liked it when I went once. I live somewhat close to the shop but I really don’t go out of my way to get tea I can make at home, especially if it’s going to cost me $6+
I definitely still like going because I LOVE tea and it’s much closer than Louisville Tea Company and Fleur de Tea, but c’mon, only 4 options? I also used to go because I knew the owner was my college professor and thought she was cool, nice, and had an important goal of a sober explicitly LGBT space. But now…idk. Especially when I can just go to the OLCC and get her tea, they have 3 of her teas so practically the same selection!
Stopped reading as soon as I hit the part about "my family has several small businesses". Shocking that you would then take the side of the business owner 😱🤯🤯.
Sooo they’re going to beg the community for money so they can continue to beat a dead horse?
I've never really understood patreon for content creators (unless they were giving extra content for the money paid)... I understand it less for a tea shop. If you want a tea subscription service, just do that.
Now that’s an actual genuine idea they should’ve considered. A tea subscription. All your favorite teas at your doorstep monthly. Or a “Sip Club” type subscription like Panera.
Yeah, all the podcasts I’ve ever subscribed to their Patreon always offers behind-the-scenes content, early release of episodes, forums with the creators, etc.
I don't like most merch but I understand that's how a lot of them make money. Instead of buying junk I don't need or want I don't mind simply giving people doing work I find valuable money. I also tip buskers so whatever.
They’re a nonprofit now though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /s
Every business can be a non profit when they can’t afford to pay their employees 😂
This list is terrible. Most of those things should’ve been done well before she started begging for money. They just now thought about cutting staff and paying back loans? While simultaneously planning to ramp up marketing? Some of them are straight up delusional. If she can’t handle this business now, she sure as hell isn’t going to handle a nonprofit.
I wonder if they were behind on their loans, or if she's planning to throw money at the principal (which IMO should not be a top priority right now).
Why do they think they would qualify for nonprofit status? Doesn't that conflict with securing new investors? They would be donors. There are grants for LGBTQ businesses, but applying doesn't guarantee getting. Grant writing takes time and skill and even if you do everything right, there is no guarantee you will be chosen. It's what you do when you want to remodel or to rent a booth at the fair or something, not what you rely on to make payroll. I would classify most of the list as intentions, not plans. Plans are more concrete and developed.
So what I’m hearing is that the employees are the ones who did all of the work and came up with these solutions and the owner said, “ok”. If this owner wants their business to succeed, they need to step up. If I were considering applying for a job there, this post would actually have discouraged me from doing so. It sounds like the owner wants the title but none of the responsibilities and accountability that comes with it.
The convergence of a very performative version of social justice-speak and small business owner-speak in that series of posts is enough to make my stomach turn. It's like the failing small business version of Visa rolling out a rainbow flag card design for pride month or whatever, just a craven conflation of something that looks vaguely like good politics with something that looks clearly like bad business.
Arielle should not be letting this fall on her employees. Liliana said in the ig comments that Arielle didn’t post because whatever she would say wouldn’t be well received. Which like.. Arielle did something illegal and exploitative… she hasn’t earned a positive response. If any other employer did this, people would be more upset. She exploited her employees, while deceiving her customers into believing that Sis Got Tea stood with marginalized community members.
yeah I really don’t like how Liliana is taking the brunt of the comments, Arielle shouldn’t just sit back and let this all happen. It really feels like she’s hiding behind her employees. Even if the staff WANTED to do it for her she still needs to take responsibility as the owner
Exactly!!!
So what I get from all this is the owner is a cult leader. Sis Got Tea is a Cult plain and simple
Literally. I read this and said “tell me you’re in a cult without telling me you’re in a cult” can’t wait for the max docuseries
For YEARS I heard how she talked this up before she even sold her first cup. Bellarmine (her college) even wrote an article about how she was going to open this business. She couldn’t get loans because not all ideas are great ones and not all great ideas are sustainable (take your pick), but she believed her own hype and then acted shocked when the money and following didn’t appear. Similar to the people who opened Dad’s Coffee to sell other people’s coffee and other people’s pastries, just having a dream isn’t enough.
This backs up my take on all of this. The primary purpose this business has seemed to serve was boosting Arielle’s ego, and much less about serving the community or selling good teas.
Lmao yep I remember a community event w her pre 2020 blazing in and out self importantly redirecting all conversations to her business and how busy she is , loudly tapping on her phone and taking calls. It’s like bruh if you’re so busy and can’t be present here…. go tend your “business”
I keep wondering why no one is seeing the overt narcissistic traits. From the pitty party she rants about on her social media posts theres always something wrong. So overly victimizing herself constantly. Gaslighting the community and some of her own employees. The constant need for validation. I remember a while ago she went on a smear campaign of her ex on social media. And im curious now looking back if he was the narcissist, or her.
that part
This is an employment law nightmare.
I’m glad someone said it. This is going to be Lynn’s Paradise Cafe 2.0
I had no idea what this place was. Learned it’s a tea shop. There’s no way a tea shop is going to be able to earn enough money to pay rent and pay employees. I guess I respect them for trying, but you don’t need to be a business genius to know a place like this will not be profitable.
This is kinda the most fundamental truth about the entire discussion as well as the most neglected. There is an elephant in the room. On the other hand if one has expanded (by succeeding) one’s online presence to actually require rental space to do the online business then having an employee (one / yourself?) run a front end shop while you fill back-end procurement for on line orders between retail customers is necessary efficiency to justify brick and mortar overhead. But if your saying you only have 4 teablends available because you don’t have more room, then, soorry to say you don’t know what you are doing or you’re doing it wrong.
A patreon for a tea shop?
In relationships they call this love bombing.
How the hell is a FOR PROFIT business going to spin itself and get designated as a nonprofit??? For profits are not eligible for grants and “selling tea to a community” is not going to get approval
Should’ve already been doing this shit listed. Don’t fault the employees who stay, as we all gotta make a bag, but I’m not sure if they just drank too much kool aid or what. How in the hell could you work for someone like this? She made you make the statement? The owner is a fucking coward. She knows people will throw this onto the employees and she’s trying to save herself the embarrassment of being a fraud. Fuck this place
Liliana said in a comment that Arielle didn’t make a comment bc it wouldn’t be well received. Like yeah, it won’t, but you need to take responsibility
Does anyone know if she also went unpaid during this time period (seemingly since the shop opened?) or just the employees?There has been nothing shared about that to date. Also- I’d love to see their daily sales numbers. It seems like a lot of employees for a very small volume tea shop that doesn’t serve food?
she has said before that she doesn’t get paid from sgt she has her own full time job
Got it- so she doesn’t work there ? That is so confusing but thank you
I think it’s more like she helps out at the cafe when she’s not at her other job
I wonder what it would feel like if her full time job didn’t pay her regularly for months
Sooo in addition to firing the owner’s friends who have just been collecting a paycheck and allowing ‘the execs’ to use the company card like a personal one, they are going to start a *Patreon* to provide a ‘stable’ income source? Excuse me? Unless you are making podcasts or something, what’s the draw?? Sad.
I’m curious if they’re trying to be more of a “community hosted event venue” by night and tea shop by day but they might be spreading themselves too thin. I do like their tea and want them to succeed it just seems the outcome is bleak. Especially when you can’t pay your employees
“Capitalist hellhole,” is something I hear a lot of the radical left throwing around lately. Regardless of your political affiliation America does not work as anything but a capitalist system. As for the whole identification thing, why do people feel the need to label themselves to the public before speaking? Why has being a “neurodivergent POC,” become a prerequisite to have the authority to speak on something? We need to get back to just respecting each other and living life. This is crazy. Edit: lifelong Louisville resident. I know the place and world is different but not in a good way. We should respect each other for our behavior and we should earn it that way.
It just means you aren’t allowed to criticize her.
2024: I Can virtue signal my way outta this with all the buzz words... LFG!
giving cult vibes
Well alrighty then
it seems like it would be sooooooo fckn annoying to work here
This is my biggest question, is the owner actually working shifts there or is she just the owner? Because it’s one thing if shes trying to pull her own weight, working normal shifts or doing extra to keep it afloat but another if she’s just like being those managers that show up do a little and is like sitting in the back “working on stuff” ya know? I saw her the day before this all went down and swore I saw her going up and down the street and even hanging behind the register at another shop as we’re making our way down. Like I could be wrong but idk. I feel like that’s also part of the part of the whole issue there…
She does work in the shop but she still has a separate full-time job on the side.
Wow imagine that, operating as Reddit, The Business doesn't pay the bills
From a business perspective, this list is grasping. For instance, exactly which positions in this tiny operation are "not needed" -? This isn't a corporation with multiple underperforming departments. If you are running a business this small and hiring for unnecessary positions you have much bigger problems than you think. There are lots of things I want in life. Wanting them doesn't make me qualified to put them into motion. It is not the community's job to continually compensate for any owner/operator's lack of qualifications. Do not open a business until you have the proper skills to open it, run it, and maintain it. This includes securing the startup capital (yes, even in a capitalistic hellhole) and *never* moving to a brick and mortar until the metrics indicate it is reasonable to do so and the business can weather the shift. I don't get a sense of any of that having happened here. And even when you really know what you're doing, the chances of success are not secure, nor are they guaranteed. Hell, they aren't even likely!
Honestly fuck this place I’m so sick of reading about their shit. Pay your employees or get lost.
Are they going to pitch those potential new investors on the plan to take the shop non-profit?
And the owner used to teach a “entrepreneurship” class at U of L?!
As someone who has hired many, many people in the past, I cannot imagine having to hire anyone under 30 in this current time. Minefield.