Sales at veteran-owned Rakkasan Tea Company grew so much during the pandemic that co-founders Brandon Friedman and Terrence Kamauf outgrew their 300-square-foot office in Deep Ellum and moved to a brick-and-mortar location in Old East Dallas, the Dallas Morning News reported.
The retail store at 1619 N. Hall St. opened Sunday and sells black, green, white, fermented and herbal teas from post-conflict countries, such as Vietnam, Rwanda, Myanmar and Colombia, among others. The goal is to promote economic development to help countries heal from war.
Friedman and Kamauf started the e-commerce store in 2017, years after they learned about tea from Kurdish fighters while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Morning News. The business will still operate primarily online but will be open for customers to browse teas by type or country of origin.
The owners would like to add tastings and events in the future, the newspaper reported.
