In July of 2023, John Frazier popped into Spot Nutrition in Hurricane to grab a tea and in making conversation with the (previous) owner, became interested in learning about the tea business. He found out how she got started and decided to open his own shop in Eleanor; Beech Street Tea. Had he been interested in entering the world of tea shop ownership before? Not at all! John had retired from the Army the November before and had no big plans until this one just came by happenstance. He even ended up purchasing Spot Nutrition a few months ago and now owns both! John says business is good and growing to serve more customers every day.

John grew up in Hurricane, moved to Winfield, and then again to Red House, so there aren’t any parts of Putnam County he isn’t familiar with. He loves that he has the pleasure of meeting new people regularly, especially people who have moved here to West Virginia from other parts of the country. John feels that dining out offers limited healthy options and that people are becoming more focused on wellness all the time, so he loves the idea of helping them move towards their goals.

Although this post-retirement gig was most definitely not part of John’s plan, he says nothing beats being his own boss. Owning a business has ups and downs, and it’s a ton of work with crazy hours, but it’s all his and he loves that concept.

John says business slows down in the summer because a lot of people are out of their normal routine of stopping in on the way to drop their kids at school; plus regulars just become a little less regular in the summer months. John has decided to use this slower time to focus on catering partnerships, an idea he hopes to see grow in the future, so if you’re a business interested in using his product for an event you have coming up, get in touch with John!

Beech Street Tea is now offering made-to-go teas in 32 oz. bottles, so you can take it home sealed and stick it in the fridge for later! They’ve also recently added online ordering and delivery to the services they offer. Visit the Beech Street Tea Facebook page for rules regarding delivery, which we happen to think is an awesome idea for a mid-day pick-me-up at work!

Next time you find yourself over in the wonderful #PutnamWV town of Eleanor, stop into Beech Street Tea and grab yourself a delicious drink!