Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi, we're a mid-twenties couple looking to start a small business (a teahouse) in a small town (we're thinking anywhere between 1,000-10,000 people.)
We are interested in towns that are affordable and have somewhat of a younger population... not trying to insult retirement communities, but we'd like some people in the 20s-40s age group to socialize with. We're not looking for "Mayberry," just a town that we can make a home for ourselves and our business. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Silver City has 10,000 in the city, 30,000 in the metro with a mix of ages close to the national average (just a bit older). Abiquiu might be worth a look for that business given the art scene. Raton might be another option.
IMHO you would be mad to open up a teahouse in a town of 1000 people. I would stick to the 10,000+ range if I were you.
Good luck with your search
Opening a teahouse in general.
If the town is a very big tourist draw, then the light population might work. Examples might include Cloudcroft or Red River. Would be very seasonal, though.
This would be a labor of love and not a going business. I think you would be hard pressed to break even if your time was worth nothing.
New Mexico doesn't have the combination of young, small town, well-to-do that you can find scattered throughout the rest of the country. Even finding two out of three is rare. Adding "likely to patronize a teahouse" to the set of three makes your optimum square footage about 10 square feet (drive-up shack).
Thanks for the info, we are looking at several states including Wa, Or, Co and a few places back east, though we'd prefer to stay on the western side. I'm definitely willing to go a bit bigger (into the 30,000 range) but we just love small towns, we're both from towns under 10,000 and living in the city is something we've never been able to get used to. We're looking to do something more local, with community involvement, but you'd be surprised at how well the tea house business goes in some small towns. We've done our research on the business end, but as far as location we're just getting started. We've allotted a year to find candidates, visit and research so this is the super preliminary phase of gathering lists of towns in different states.
No, Rruff, it had good business, but there were some other issues that caused the owner to leave the area. It was a great place, and the plays and other shows they put on there were fantastic. They had a nice stage and ever event we went to there was well attended.
I miss the place-it was really a badly need touch of class amongst us. Andromeda, we would really love to see you look at our area, if you're thinking to have that type of venue.
Thanks for enlightening me. I have a hard time keeping up with the businesses coming and going here every year, and had not realized that particular business was history. As a resident, I seldom even drive through mid-town Ruidoso, much preferring the faster route down Paradise Canyon. And even when I do drive through mid-town, my eyes are on traffic and not on the businesses. Other than Ace Hardware and a couple of restaurants I frequent, I don't shop there either.
No, Rruff, it had good business, but there were some other issues that caused the owner to leave the area.
I stand corrected. I've never been there, but my wife liked it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
