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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Park Slope's Tea Lounge to Close After 14 Years in Business

By Leslie Albrecht | December 11, 2014 2:34pm
 The Tea Lounge at Union Street and Seventh Avenue is closing after 14 years in business.
The Tea Lounge at Union Street and Seventh Avenue is closing after 14 years in business.
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DNAinfo/Leslie Albrecht

PARK SLOPE — All the tea in China can't save a favorite Park Slope hangout.

The Tea Lounge is closing after 14 years because it's not getting enough business, owner Jonathan Spiel told DNAinfo New York.

"It's all my expenses and not enough business," Spiel explained.

The spacious coffee shop, cafe and bar will close its location at Union Street and Seventh Avenue for good on Dec. 14, Spiel said.

"It was a pleasure serving the community for 14 years,” Spiel said. “It’s a sad day and we appreciate your business.”

Heartbroken customers flooded the Tea Lounge Facebook page with comments about enjoyable hours spent on the couches in the cavernous space.

“Please say that's not true! That’s sooo sad. I will never forget this place where I've met the love of my life," wrote one.

Outside the business on Thursday, a musician named Stix ate a bialy and reminisced about the cafe's active music scene, which once got a writeup in Downbeat magazine.

"It used to have a good happy hour, good bartenders and good music. What more could you ask for?" he said.

Spiel declined to answer questions about whether a rent increase was forcing him out.

The Tea Lounge was put up for sale or rent in September with a listing that asked $175,000 for the business and $9,750 a month to rent the space, according to the blog Here's Park Slope, which also first reported the closure.

The Tea Lounge announced franchising opportunities in 2012 and a location opened in Kuwait. Spiel said Thursday he's not planning to reopen the Park Slope branch in another spot.