Tea business opens along Route 66

Kandel's Street Sips Tea Shack and More opened earlier this month in a food trailer in the parking lot of a long-closed Tucumcari gas station on Route 66.

A week after the opening, co-owner Rhonda Kandel said Saturday that business was going well.

"The community is excited, and they have supported us," she said.

Kandel's Street Sips, a few dozen yards east of the Roadrunner Lodge Motel, offers New Mexico-blended tea, along with treats from Tucumcari resident Michael Carlson's Goodies Go Last.

"Everything that we serve here is New Mexico blend," she said. "Our teas come from an Albuquerque company, and we steep that cold brew. It brings out the flavoring better and is not as (acidic). Cold brew gives it a more natural flavor."

The best-sellers are their coconut and prickly pear teas. It also offers frappaccinos, Italian sodas and lemonade.

Kandel's can offer hot water for those who want to steep their tea or coffee for a hot beverage, as well.

Much of the food trailer is covered with scribbles from those who went to its opening day. Part of the trailer was repainted with a chalkboard paint.

"We allowed the children and even the adults to write down their name, whatever, as long as it was presentable to everybody," she said.

Kandel said the idea for her tea business came about time time her work contract ended with the Santa Rosa prison a few months ago.

"My stepson and I had a conversation, and he said, 'Let's open a tea shack,'" she recalled. "I wasn't sure whether people were going to support or not. So we discussed it, and we decided to do it. We decided to jump in."

Her stepson Bobby is a co-owner. Kandel's Street Sips employs two people.

Kandel said she participated in Tucumcari MainStreet's FORGE business accelerator program, which she said was helpful in launching her business.

For now, Kandel's Street Sips is renting its current space from David Brenner, owner of the Road Runner Lodge and the adjacent gas station. She said she's looking at possibly opening a permanent location in Tucumcari or a second mobile tea shack.

Kandel's Street Sips offers catering or services for tea parties. Those who are interested should call (575) 403-4529.