Cozy Cupboard Will Be Sold

It was always the intention of college professor and tea room owner James Howard to start up a business and pass it along to someone for whom running a restaurant is their primary vocation.

To that end, he is offering the Cozy Cupboard Tea Room up for sale.

Howard assumed it would take between two and three years for the tea room to take off, but “it got off to a blazing start,” he said. “I thought it would take longer to build a credible model, but we are ranked number four out of 68 in the state.” He opened the tea room in September 2010.

Although the business is listed with a broker, Howard intends to keep the Cozy Cupboard until the end of September and will honor all the bookings he has. He is booked through July with showers.

Howard attributes his quick success to several things.

He brought his experience as a professor of architectural design at County College of Morris to the look of the tea room. He sought out a building that would give him a large room for private parties – often bridal or baby showers – plus a smaller room to accommodate walk-ins at the same time a party is going on. The Rose Room seats 50 and the Cameo Room seats 24. The rooms can be arranged for everything from a birthday party to a business meeting, according to the website.

He also believes the location of the Cozy Cupboard, off Madison Avenue in Convent Station, and set back from Old Turnpike Road, is a help because it give the appearance of seclusion. Parking is always an issue. The lot at Cozy Cupboard accommodates 23 cars and an additional eight to 10 can park along the driveway if necessary. He developed a relationship with the bank next door to allow his staff to park in the bank lot on weekends. Overflow parking is allowed in the bank lot on weekends as well.

The designer in Howard discovered Convent Station is dead center in Morris County, which is probably a help for the tea room as well. “If you shoot a 20-mile radius out from Convent Station you will only hit four or five other tea rooms,” he said. Howard noted he gets many parties and customers from northern Somerset County as well as from Morris.

Howard also credits his knowledge of tea as a help. Customers often ask about tea and he is ready to talk to them about the history and health benefits of tea.

Only loose tea is served at the Cozy Cupboard, no tea bags.

Howard doesn’t charge for switching tea flavors, which is unusual in a tea room. “Even in New York City, they charge,” he said.

All teas are served on matching china, he noted. His website says the silverware is Windsor Pattern and the china is Royal Doulton Old Country Rose.