'Personality Clash' Shutters Washington Avenue Tea and Flower Shop

Six months after opening, the innovative flower-and-tea combo shop on Washington Avenue closed its doors due to a “personality clash” between the store’s partners.

Ken Lo, who owns a Kung Fu studio in Soho and his wife, Angel Chan, a real estate broker, opened Chrysanthemum Rare Teas & Flowers with floral designer Sarah Lineberger. Lineberger did the floral side as well as the social media and other marketing, while Lo sold rare teas and taught classes in the art of tea ceremony.

The partnership came about by chance: Lo and Chan met Lineberger when she tagged along with a friend to an interview with Lo on ethnic foods. They all hit it off, and soon after, decided to go into business together.

"She liked tea and Kung Fu ... I thought it was fate," said Chan during an interview at the shuttered shop on Friday.

Chan, Lo and Lineberger decided to give the partnership a six-month trial, and opened in July. 

Business, especially on the flower side, was building, but the relationship between the partners became increasingly strained. When the trial period ended, they decided to part ways and the store closed on Jan. 8.

“It’s a personality clash,” Lo said, adding, “We really want Sarah to do well.”

Lineberger declined to comment on the closing.

Lo and Chan, who have owned the building housing the shop since 1989, hope to re-open the tea side of the shop within a few weeks.

Whether they will bring in another floral designer or move in another direction is still up in the air. Lo is considering making the shop a tea-only café that will also sell ice cream and other desserts made with tea.

In the longterm, he is thinking about opening a Chinese barbecue joint in the space, but that would involve major renovations and is not in the shop’s immediate future, Lo said.

But while the exact direction remains up in the air, one thing is fairly certain: 669 Washington Ave. will not become another empty storefront on the strip.

“We’re going to start from scratch,” said Lo. “And we’re going to try to do something that’s useful to the community.”