Tootsie’s Tea Moving to Near West Side
The small-batch tea shop is looking to consolidate operations, launch retail space.
Lizz Tsosie Stachura at the future Tootsie’s Tea retail store. Photo taken June 20, 2025 by Sophie Bolich.
Eight years ago, Lizz Tsosie Stachura bought a package of coconut tea at an Arizona farmers market. It wasn’t just a new flavor — it was the start of a new career.
“When I ran out of it, I could not find it anywhere,” said Tsosie Stachura, who searched high and low for the original vendor, then ordered coconut tea from “every tea person in the U.S.” in pursuit of that life-changing blend. Months later, still empty-handed, she resorted to making her own.
“I essentially just looked at my tea and kind of reverse-engineered it,” she said.
As it turned out, Tsosie Stachura had a knack for tea-making. Today, she runs her own business, Tootsie’s Tea, offering small-batch, loose-leaf blends — many featuring locally grown and sustainably sourced ingredients.
The two-year-old business currently operates as a wholesaler and market vendor, but later this summer, it’s poised for a major evolution: its first public-facing retail store.
Tsosie Stachura and her husband, Mike, are working to transform a space at 2604 W. Clybourn St., next to Mo’s Food Market, into a permanent home for Tootsie’s Tea.
Though still under construction, the finished location would feature kitchen and production areas, a dedicated workshop and event area and a public-facing retail store — a first for Tootsie’s Tea.
It would also consolidate the business, which stores its products in a Cudahy facility while handling administrative tasks out of a Walker’s Point office.
“I knew right away that this was the place,” Tsosie Stachura said of the Avenues West property. “It made sense to me.”
The future store would stock signature blends from Tootsie’s, including strawberry basil, princess peach, lemon cupcake and vanilla sweetgrass, along with specialty teas designed for sleep, stress, digestion and more.
Tsosie Stachura, whose roots come from the Lenca people of Honduras and the Diné, strives to source local ingredients whenever possible, also growing her own fresh herbs and botanicals in Milwaukee. The company furthers this mission by honoring traditional Indigenous harvesting practices: seeking permission and expressing gratitude to the land.
At the expanded location, Tsosie Stachura looks forward to experimenting with new flavors and blends. “I have so many ideas,” she said, adding that she plans to offer a wider variety of sizes, both bulk and single-serve. Teas are currently available in 3.5-inch glass jars and one-pound mylar bags.
The retail store could also offer tea-brewing accessories and other related items, including Tsosie Stachura’s vintage teacups, which she decorates and sells. The business says it donates 100% of the vintage sales proceeds back into the community. Tootsie’s also donates a portion of its total profits to nonprofits & community programs.
Tsosie Stachura said she’s eager to “add a little charm” to the heavily industrial strip of Clybourn Avenue, and said nearby businesses have already expressed excitement for her arrival.
“It’s been really awesome to feel like we’ve been welcomed with open arms,” she said.
The couple is working through the city’s permitting process, with hopes of having the kitchen up and running by mid-July. The retail store is targeting an opening in September.
In the meantime, fans can find Tootsie’s Tea online and at upcoming events including Lakefront Brewery‘s Pride Makers Market on June 22, East Town‘s Bastille Days festival and Red Magic Art Festival.
For updates and additional information, visit the business’s website.
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