Success is in the bag

Dalhousie PhD student opens tea shop

- January 18, 2008

PhD student Rebecca Babcock and her husband Trent Soholt are the owners of Cargo & James Tea. (Danny Abriel photo)

Finding the perfect place to curl up with a book, review notes or tackle marking is important. That’s why Rebecca Babcock took special care to create comfy spots for tea-loving students and professors to settle in and relax at her new tea café.

The entrepreneur and Dalhousie PhD student has picked out her own cozy corner at Cargo & James Tea. Just the place to finish that thesis.

Located at 1237 Barrington Street between South and Morris Streets, Cargo & James Tea celebrates its grand opening on Saturday, January 19, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. It offers top-quality loose-leaf teas and tisanes, iced teas, tea slush and tea lattes. They’ve got black tea and chai tea, green tea and oolong tea, herbal tea and rooibos tea. Not to mention coffee.

“I was actually a big coffee drinker when I was doing my undergrad,” confesses Ms. Babcock, who owns and operates the newest outlet of the Edmonton tea franchise with her husband Trent Soholt. “But I drank too much, and I had to cut back. When I went looking for a caffeine alternative, I discovered Cargo & James.

“Moving out here (from Alberta), we decided to open our own shop.”

Even while operating a business, she’s charging ahead with her studies. She expects to complete her PhD, which focuses on contemporary Canadian literature, within two years.