Wenham Tea House Is Latest Business To Fall Victim To Coronavirus

WENHAM, MA — A business that opened in 1893 and billed itself as "America's Oldest Teahouse" will not be reopening, thanks in part to massive unemployment benefits its workers were getting during the coronavirus shutdown.

Wenham Tea House operator Chris Keohane said he had stayed afloat through the coronavirus shutdown with community support. But when it came time to reopen, he couldn't get his staff to come back to work for a number of reasons.

Keohane operates the food and beverage business for the Wenham Village Improvement Society, which still owns the property. In a follow-up post, he said the society was hoping to find anotgher vendor willing to take over the food and beverage operation.

"Due to extreme challenges in getting staff to return to work from the massive unemployment benefits they have received, some staff coming down with life-changing health issues, challenges with maintaining consistent products and consistent pricing alongside intensive (and somewhat inhumane) government restrictions on our business, we simply could not keep our financial, emotional or spiritual sanity any longer to effectively operate the Tea House," Keohane said in a Facebook post.

Keohane, who took over the business in 2015, also said he hoped to find a new owner willing to buy the business.

The business was founded by the Wenham Village Improvement Society. The Teah House has continued to give a portion of its proceeds to the society, which are given to the town of Wenham.