Wonderland Lives On With New Owner of Popular UWS Tea Shop

By Gus Saltonstall

There is a new proprietor of Wonderland.

Jeni He.

Jeni now owns Alice’s Tea Cup, the Wonderland-themed cafe at 102 West 73rd Street, off the corner of Columbus Avenue. The cafe first opened on the Upper West Side in 2001 and has two other New York City locations.

Jeni’s name came to the forefront at the beginning of August after news broke that the founders and original owners of the shop, sisters Lauren and Haley Fox, would be selling the business.

West Side Rag visited Alice’s Tea Cup on Wednesday to speak with Jeni about why she bought the popular neighborhood spot and her vision for its future.

“I purchased this business because I know it means a lot to this neighborhood, and I know longtime customers appreciate the memories they have created here, so I want to keep almost everything the same,” Jeni told me, at a table near the back of the cafe, covered with cups of mint tea, scones, and finger sandwiches.

Jeni is not new to the food business. She emigrated with her family from China to Pennsylvania in the 1980s, where her father ran a restaurant for decades. She is also the owner of Momo Sushi at 239 Park Avenue South.

“I know Alice’s Tea Cup is not just a restaurant in the neighborhood,” He continued. “23 years people have visited, customers that came as kids and now are going to bring their own kids. I want it to be the same taste of scones for them. The same taste of tea. I really appreciate that, so I’m not going to change it.”

“I’ll try my best to never let it shut down,” she added.

Jeni talked with the former owners, the Fox sisters, for two years, before they were able to ink a deal on the cafe. At the time of sale, legal documents showed that the restaurant was struggling to turn a profit.

Initially, it was incorrectly reported that the cafe would be closing.

Jeni acknowledged that there were a few new strategies she planned to deploy to help the business’ bottom line.

She is currently in the process of creating a tea delivery portion of the cafe’s website, where people from all over the world would be able to get Alice’s Tea Cup’s tea sent to their homes. Jeni hopes to have the tea delivery service set up by this year’s December holidays.

She also has plans to open additional locations in Lower Manhattan, and has also already spent time renovating the Upper West Side location. (Don’t worry, the colorful murals and signs are still there.)

Along with the food and tea options, Alice’s Tea Cup hosts private events for kids, birthday parties, bridal showers and more.

In regards to the Upper West Side location, longtime employees are remaining on staff, and the Foxes are remaining part of the operation in a consulting role. Jeni also plans to add a few more options to the menu.

“I still want to learn from them, they’ve been running this business for 23 years, and they know what the customers want,” Jeni said about the Foxes.

She sees them in person at least once a week.

“I want people to know that I’m trying to keep things the same, and run the business for another 30, 40, 50 years, and then find somebody after I’m gone to run it,” Jeni said. “All the longtime customers really touch me, I want them always to be able to come back and have things taste the same.”

“It’s a neighborhood restaurant,” she concluded. “They don’t want it closed. I don’t want it closed.”

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