THUNDER BAY — Canadian entrepreneur Doug Putnam is reopening dozens of David's Tea locations that were closed earlier this year in a major restructuring attributed in part to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 200 locations in Canada and the U.S., including the one at Intercity Shopping Centre, were shut down.
Thunder Bay is on the list of cities Putnam has earmarked for his new chain of tea shops called T.Kettle.
The businessman told Tbnewswatch he expects to open the T.Kettle outlet at Intercity Shopping Centre next week, with a staff of up to 10 people.
Putnam also owns Sunrise Records, which took over the leases for 70 HMV locations across Canada when that chain announced it was going out of business in 2017.
In a statement, he said "We always believed there would be a return to the purity and authenticity of music on vinyl and the record shop experience, and we were right. We believe that loose-leaf tea is poised for a similar comeback, and we're merging our expertise in retail operations with our passion for tea."
