By ZELORY GREGLER //
A reborn Port Jefferson flavorfest is returning modern trade to its most-basic roots.
Bill McGloine, co-owner of The Spice & Tea Exchange with his wife, Dorine, will give you the skinny on oolong tea, black-truffle salt and dozens of other mouthwatering products – but first he’ll tell you that before humans minted coins or printed paper money, “We traded spices and teas.”
“This was the original currency,” he notes. “We’re going back to the grassroots here … this is the beginning of commerce.”
It’s certainly the beginning of commerce for the McGloines, the third set of owners to run the “downport” Spice & Tea Exchange, which originally opened in 2017, changed hands in 2020 and closed temporarily in February, setting the stage for its April 3 grand reopening.
Bill spent the better part of the last three decades rising through the ranks at Korg USA, the Melville-based wholesaler of musical equipment, and Dorine – an RN with a master’s degree in nutrition – is the Longwood High School nurse.
Zelory Gregler: Tea-ing it up.
This is their first retail foray, but it won’t be their last. The Moriches residents are already steeping their next Spice & Tea Exchange shop, expected to open in Patchogue later this year, and have back-burner ambitions for further franchises in Greenport, Sag Harbor and the Hamptons.
Needless to say, the rookie entrepreneurs believe they’ve found their cup of tea.
“We wanted to do something we could both get involved in,” Bill says. “I like to cook, she loves tea, and this was something the whole family could get involved in.”
He’s not exaggerating: Son Logan and daughter Kailynn work in the store, and older son Connor – a budding marine scientist – can also be found hanging around when he’s not on active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard.
And like Mom the nutritionist and Dad the amateur chef, they all have a particular affinity for food: Connor is an avid food smoker, according to his father, while Logan has been experimenting with his own recipes since he escaped the crib, concocting his personal versions of relish and ketchup.
“It’s nice to be together and working hard and doing things we enjoy,” Dorine notes. “We’ve been making teas at home for years and years, and everyone likes to cook, so when we came across this, it was like kids in a candy store.”
The McGloines came across their first Spice & Tea Exchange while transporting Connor to Coast Guard training in Rhode Island. They were immediately hooked, and after learning from corporate ownership that the Port Jefferson store – one of 92 nationwide – was coming available, Bill and Dorine spent a week at “Spice U,” a training program hosted by the St. Augustine, Fla., mothership.
Brew ha ha: Smells, tastes and textures abound inside The Spice & Tea Exchange.
There was plenty to learn. The Spice & Tea Exchange is a wonderland of smells, tastes and textures, overflowing with loose teas (everything from Chocolate Chai to Honeybee Ginger to Berry Bouquet) and a tongue-boggling array of spices (try the Dragon Fruit Sugar or the Roasted Dandelion Root).
There are prepackaged “flavor packets” ready to kick up your tandoori chicken or hickory pulled pork, an array of infused olive oils and a chef’s-delight assortment of cutting boards, tea kettles and measuring spoons, plus a library of free recipe cards set to turn any amateur into a bona fide Bobby Flay – Italian Herb Chicken Salad, Blueberry Zucchini Breakfast Muffins, Coconut Curry Noddle Soup and more.
Mocktail ingredients? You bet. Flavored candles? The Elderberry Fortress scent rocks, in a soothing kind of way.
“This is at the core of what everybody loves,” Bill notes. “If you like barbecuing, or you like pizza, or you like ice cream or baking or you like to smoke meat or maybe you just like tea … there’s literally something for everybody in here.”
And of course, there’s more healthfulness than you’ll find in your local GNC.
“Things like ginger and turmeric are anti-inflammatories, so we have them in a lot of teas and spices,” Dorine notes. “We have cards showing people what products they can try, like chamomile or lavender, for different things.
Man of the people: Getting to know the people of Port Jefferson is a big part of the marketing plan, according to Bill McGloine.
“You have to be careful – you can’t say it’s ‘guaranteed’ to help,” she adds. “But there have been a lot of studies showing these things are known to have benefits as anti-inflammatories or to help you sleep.”
The April 3 reopening, with a refreshed product line and slightly reorganized layout, came not a moment too soon, according to its new owners.
“When we were working on the store, we didn’t have the new products, we didn’t even have a (cash) register,” Dorine says. “But people would knock on the door and ask, ‘Do you have this? We really need it!’
“There was one man who wanted his paprika, so we just gave it to him and said, ‘Hey, remember to come back,’” she adds. “One couple came with their baby and said they needed this apple cinnamon sugar … she loves it on her oatmeal.”
Since the reopening, it’s been a steady mix of old and new customers – a good sign that the McGloines’ marketing strategy is already whistling. Job No. 1 is “becoming part of the community here,” according to Bill, who says the new owners are fulling embracing the “local” vibe.
“We’re working a lot with area restaurants to wholesale to them,” he says. “We participated in a health-and-wellness event at The Meadow Club, featuring 90 different local organizations, and we’ve already partnered with several of them to provide tea service at their events.
Jarring: Putting “something for every taste” to the test — and passing.
“A lot of this is going out and meeting people face-to-face,” he adds. “This is a tightknit community where a lot of people know each other, so becoming part of the community … is a big part of it.”
The shop owners are also going all-in on online advertising (Facebook, Instagram and Google Ads all factor in), a strategy they’ll replicate when they finalize their Patchogue lease (and the liquor store being renovated for spices and teas is ready to roll, sometime this fall).
“We’re working with restaurants in Port Jefferson to introduce our spices to … get some items added to their menus with our logo next to them, things like that,” Bill says. “We’re going to provide a lot of product to the restaurants for free or at a reduced price.
“Patchogue is very similar (to Port Jefferson),” he adds. “I’m planning to partner with The Cook’s Studio and meet with a lot of chefs in that community.”
Port Jefferson does offer one significant hurdle: It already hosts multiple tea shops, including You, Me and Tea, situated just a scone’s throw from The Spice & Tea Exchange. But that’s more of a sit-down teahouse, according to Dorine, who says the competition is anything but cutthroat.
“We’ve made friends with them,” she says. “They’re more like a traditional tea shop and they have no spices.
“We’re all in the same small-business environment, trying to make it work, and I hope we both do really well,” Dorine adds. “I’d rather lose a couple of dollars one day if they can get it, and hopefully they’ll do the same for us.”
While the entrepreneurs definitely plan to expand their brand across Eastern Long Island, the next locales are not locked down. But in Port Jefferson and Patchogue, they’re certain they’ve picked the right spots to brew up a steady following.
“This shop very much caters to people who are visiting someplace for a three-day getaway,” Bill notes. “The locals always love the products, but the people who come for a visit and might not have something like this at home tend to love it even more.
“Places like Greenport are great for that,” he adds. “And Port Jeff is definitely great for that.”
Zelory “Celery” Gregler has been cooking for most of his life, and eating for all of it.
