Nik select said

New tea house in Highland Park, IL (near Chicago).

I’m not anywhere near this, but I just heard of it so I thought I’d pass along the news. Smashing Pumpkins lead, Billy Corgan, is finally realising a dream he’s had for a decade: he’s opening a tea house in Highland Park, IL.

Madame Zuzu’s Tea House’s grand opening is tomorrow (Thursday, 13th September, 2012). It’s at 582 Roger Williams Ave. in Highland Park. Corgan will be there, greeting customers and occasionally playing music. But even better, there will be free tea.

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/15085389-421/billy-corgan-wants-his-tea-house-steeped-in-the-aura-of-salons-past.html

16 Replies
Babble said

That’s so awesome!! Wish I could be there.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Azzrian said

I remember driving through that area MANY years ago. It was quite a nice area! I recall this only because we have a Highland Park area in my city which is NOT nice at all and back in those days was REALLY far worse than it is now. I remember thinking "this is nothing like our Highland Park!

momo said

LOL right I knew of Highland Park when I lived in Illinois because it was where Michael Jordan lived!!! And where my parents live now the area named Highland Park is like the worst place in the city.

Azzrian said

Haha sounds like our HP area!

Login or sign up to post a message.

Seriously neat. Like the idea of having performances and talks there, inter-generational, multi-cultural and religious/spiritual plurality, gets me thinking.

Login or sign up to post a message.

James R said

I work in Highland Park :D

I’ll definitely be going there on my lunch hour.

Please let us know what you think. I was tempted to go today but wasn’t excited about dealing with the crowds. I just want a relaxing cuppa. Though I am a Smashing Pumpkins fan. :)

James R said

If you ever make it up to HP let me know!

Login or sign up to post a message.

Cool! I go to Chicago once or twice a year, my favorite Harp factory is there. I’ll have to allow extra time on my next visit to check this place out!

Login or sign up to post a message.

James R said

So I went yesterday for the opening and again tonight after dinner.

Yesterday I went on my lunch hour (ok it turned into 2 hours), we waited about half an hour to get inside. Chatted up some people in line, people came from quite a distance. Finally we got in and Billy played an acoustic set of 6 songs. The place is really nice, it seats about 30 people. They serve about a dozen varieties of teas as well as pour over coffee. They really put some care into the tea, from weighing the tea to brewing it with timers. It’s what a TEA house should be, rather than a coffee house that also serves tea. For the opening the staff from Intelligentsia was brewing samples of their Snow Buds Green, King Crimson herbal, and Earl Grey. They were way too crowded to deal with orders. The place has the feeling of another era. No loud music or bright lights, hand crafted beverages, and people actually conversing!

Tonight my gf and I went back around 9pm and the crowds had subsided. I got a matcha genmaicha, and she got a straight peppermint tea. We spent a good hour there just talking and relaxing. We were never pressured to leave.

I took this video of him and a friend of his who happened to be in line with me while we were waiting. Billy invited him up to play a song, they decided to play Today.

https://www.facebook.com/ajax/flash/expand_inline.php?v=10100265101167131&target_div=u6dephc115&playertype=permalink&max_width=403&max_height=403&context=timelineSingle That should work, if not I can upload it to Youtube.

I’ll post an article with pictures to my Examiner page this weekend

Nik select said

How great! Thank you for sharing your experience, James. The place sounds like everything I hoped it’d be. =)

Login or sign up to post a message.

ell said

Love this place! I live right down the street. I’ve been going at least a couple of times per week since the place opened. Very relaxing and the staff is nice. They are still tweaking things. Great addition to the neighborhood!

Nik select said

That’s awesome. =)

Azzrian said

What a dream to have a wonderful tea house just down the block!

James R said

Nice! I work in HP too, have been to Zuzus a few times now, its great.

Login or sign up to post a message.

tperez said

Well I’m jealous :) haha

Login or sign up to post a message.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.