"I don't want to be so homogenized, cookie-cutter," he said, in a phone conversation from Martha's Vineyard where he was spending the weekend.
Indeed, at Tealuxe, the serving of its 140 different teas is still a veritable ritualistic treat.
If you've ordered a mug, the teatender will bring an open-ended tea bag and carefully spoon out the appropriate tea from boxes that line the wall behind the register. If you've ordered a pot, the pot comes equipped with a mesh to put your tea leaves in--and a three-minute hourglass timer to make sure you steep the tea for just the right amount of time. If you desire a souvenir of your visit, you can choose to buy anything from a teapot drip catcher to mint-tea jelly.
The vast majority of those who drop in during the weekend seem a sophisticated and relatively prosperous crowd. But, Fernie said that his actual goal is to cater to both the tea aficionado and the first-timer, making the place accessible to those who otherwise would have thought of tea as "snooty" and "Victorian."
"I especially love it when coffee-drinkers who haven't much experience with tea come in and you can see it in their faces that it's the best tea they ever tasted," he said.
Sunday morning, Elizabeth A. Haynes '98 was behind the counter teatending. Haynes emphatically agreed with Fernie's statement that Tealuxe continues to be a generally friendly place.
"I work here because I really like the place, used to spend a lot of time drinking tea there anyway, "Haynes said, laughingly admitting that now she has tea for free when she works.
"Every time I've gone to Tealuxe, I really liked the people behind the counter. I though it was a great way to meet people.... It's a really nice break from papers, exams," she said.
Indeed, most regulars did not seem to be giving up on Tealuxe. However, Smith did express reservations, hoping against hope that Tealuxe's uniqueness will not be diminished by the possibility of a Tealuxe chain.
"There's a part of me that's romantic and selfish and hopes that there will only be one Tealuxe," she said.