Boston Tea Party founder buys Exeter restaurant
Ben Mangan, a founder of the Boston Tea Party chain, has bought Hansons restaurant and tea rooms in the centre of the Devon city of Exeter.
The business, which reopened this month as the Tea on the Green, occupies a Grade II-listed building that dates back to 1530.
It can seat a total of 70 customers, including alfresco diners to the front, which overlooks Exeter Cathedral.
Mangan has positioned the business to fill a perceived gap in the local market for an olde-worlde tea room and coffee shop.
It offers alcohol, an extensive menu focussing on local, free range and organic ingredients, a fully-waited table service, and a new espresso bar. A central feature is the reopened 16th century bread oven.
The teabag-free teas and coffees are sourced from D J Miles of Porlock and includes Jasmine Burst, which blossoms like a flower in the cup.
Mangan has hired New Zealander Fione Were, who has worked with Boston Tea Party and was training and development chef at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall in its first years, to create new menus and recipes and train the staff.
Stonesmith of Exeter sold the leasehold off a guide price of £95,000 on behalf of Andy Goodchild.
By Angela Frewin
