LOCAL COUPLE SEEKS TO "SPICE UP" LANCASTER

It’s been said that food is a universal language that brings people together. If that is the case, Mike and Judy Gitomer will be enjoying lots of company at their new The Spice & Tea Exchange location.

In July, the East Petersburg couple will open their The Spice & Tea Exchange®, purveyor of more than 30 exotic teas, 140 spices, 80 exclusive hand-mixed blends, salts from around the world and naturally flavored sugars. The new store will be located at 20 West Orange St., in Lancaster.

Judy was looking to start a business of her own after a long career as a pediatric and adult cardiac ultrasound technologist. Mike supported her plan and has himself enjoyed a long career in the medical/pharmaceutical fields. He will stay in his current position but provides his wife with moral, and helpful, support in her new endeavor.

“I was interested in something within the food industry but we didn’t want to start a restaurant,” Judy said. “I was looking online one evening and stumbled across The Spice & Tea Exchange® and we were both intrigued. We then went to visit one of the shops and we were hooked.”

“Come In and Smell the Spices! ®” is not just the company tag line; it embodies the desire of The Spice & Tea Exchange® to welcome customers to the unique concept. The mission of TSTE® is “creating & sharing the experience of a more flavorful life.”

“More people of different ages and backgrounds are spending ‘hang out’ time in the kitchen cooking,” Mike said. “It brings everyone together – families and friends. It’s reflected in stores such as The Spice & Tea Exchange® catering to this growing market. I think Judy will do very well and I will enjoy helping when I can, even if it’s lifting sacks of spices,” he joked.

Visitors to The Spice & Tea Exchange® can explore, open jars and smell and speak with knowledgeable staff that can typically be found hand-mixing custom blends and seasonings right in the store, bagging teas or putting together unique gifts for guests.

It’s an environment that Judy Gitomer knows all too well. Her great grandmother started a candy-making business years ago when she was a widow with four children to support. Judy was fortunate enough to help out in the business until her great-grandmother passed away when Judy was 18.

“Both my grandmothers were also wonderful cooks,” Judy recalled. “Everything was always made from scratch in our family. Those years inspired a desire to be an entrepreneur myself someday and to somehow connect it to food. I think I will have accomplished that goal when The Spice & Tea Exchange® opens its doors in July.”