HTeaO, the west Wichita iced tea shop with a big Texas on the building, has an open date
The new iced tea shop decorated with a giant Texas is almost ready to open.
HTeaO, the shop west Wichitans have been watching go up for the past several months at 13th and Tyler, will open on July 30, said franchisee Michelle Albracht. That’s a Friday, and on day one, the store will open at noon.
After that, its hours will be 7 a.m. to 9:05 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 9:05 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 9:05 p.m. on Sundays. Those hours will remain until Sept. 1, when the store will begin closing an hour earlier.
Albracht, a former television anchor who’s married to KWCH sports anchor Jacob Albracht, says she can’t wait for people to see the unique store, which specializes in 24 flavors of iced tea that people can mix and match and top with fresh fruit. The shop, which has a drive-through, doesn’t have any indoor seating, but those who go inside to order their tea will use self-serve machines and create whatever sweetened or unsweetened concoctions they want.
“There are hundreds and hundreds of combinations you can create,” Albracht said.
The shop also sells its ice by the bag — made using water from a reverse osmosis system and created both in cubed and crunchy circular shapes. In addition, it sells Yeti and Hydro Flask containers in lots of bright colors.
The tea the shop sells is all freshly brewed, Albracht said, and those who want it sweetened can get it with either pure cane sugar or artificial sweeteners. People can also control the degree of sweetness in their tea.
There’s no food menu, but customers can get healthy snacks like beef jerky, Popchips and Clif Bars.
HTeaO, which used to be called Texas Tea, is part of a Texas-based chain with stores across Texas, Oklahoma and Florida. Albracht said she fell in love with it when she was living in Texas.
“The store is so colorful, and it smells amazing,” Albracht said. “It’s this whole environment and atmosphere... I just get so excited when I’m in the store working.”
Albracht is now in the process of hiring staff and says she’ll have lots of shifts open. To find an application, visit the store’s Facebook page.
This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 2:48 PM.
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