Clipper Ship Tea Company launches pop-up shop at Firefly Artists in Northport
After a fire nearby closed Clipper Ship Tea Company in Northport, the shop's offerings have popped up in other venues. Credit: Newsday / Heather Walsh
The fire that gutted Gunther’s Tap Room in Northport on May 23 also damaged and closed two other food businesses — 7T8 European Fusion and Clipper Ship Tea Co. — that have not yet reopened.
Clipper Ship owner Melissa Wawrzonek has stayed busy, however, and her teas have resurfaced in a few other places along the North Shore: On the shelves of both Southdown Coffee locations, and also at a pop-up inside Northport’s Firefly Artists gallery.
At Southdown — open daily at 210B Wall St. in Huntington and 49 Audrey Ave. in Oyster Bay — tea lovers can buy loose-leaf Clipper Ship blends as well as brewed hot tea and batched iced tea in flavors such as jasmine-green and iced chai.
The shelves inside the 100-square-foot pop-up at Firefly Artists are filled with 103 blends sold in various sizes, and brewed tea is occasionally available to taste. “The shop will continue for the next few months,” wrote Wawrzonek on Facebook. She is also planning a tea subscription service, a line of tea bags and the eventual reopening of a brick-and-mortar store. Her location on Northport’s Main Street had been open since 2010, but closed because of smoke and water damage related to the fire.
Clipper Ship at Firefly Artists is open Tuesday to Sunday at 180 Main St., 631-651-5545, Northport. To stay apprised of the store’s progress and programs, go to facebook.com/Clipper-Ship-Tea-Company
