Tea company sips, shifts to new market demands

There’s been much ado about the impact of the pandemic on restaurants. It’s also, of course, hurting suppliers of restaurants.

One area wholesaler feeling those effects is Sarasota-based Local Tea Co. Owner Michael Duranko, who says people aren’t eating at restaurants as much anymore, and when they do, fewer stick around for a hot cup of tea. Plus business models in the restaurant industry count on capacity, and the pandemic has put a crimp in that. “It’s a scary time to be in the restaurant business,” Duranko says. “It’s even scarier if you’re supplying that restaurant space.”