Since 2009, Happy Lucky’s Teahouse, has been proving how culture, lifestyle, health and happiness all come down to just three elements: Water, Tea, and Time. When owners George and Kari Grossman opened Happy Lucky’s it was the only Teahouse in Fort Collins and it has remained a staple in the community through their commitment to quality, selection, and community. Nothing compares to Happy Lucky’s highly interactive, informative and immersive tea experience. In this week’s community connections we learned how one can "Nourish Your Happy".

What makes Happy Lucky's Teahouse Unique?

We were the first teashop in Fort Collins when we opened in 2009 in the 100-year-old historic Firehouse building in Old Town, and in the fall of 2016 we opened a second location in south town at Front Range Village. At both locations we’re all about building community and nourishing happiness through the experience of great tea. We have the largest selection of tea in Colorado with over 200 varieties on our Great Wall of Tea. You can write a wish and stick it into the old bricks on our Wishing Wall, or write in our community journal about what makes you feel happy and lucky, or take a piece of complimentary origami paper and fold a crane for our 1,000 cranes of peace collection. We are tea educators – take one of our Tasting Teas of the World classes and take flight to the world from the tasty beverage mecca of Fort Collins, Colorado!

What do you love about Fort Collins?

It’s a town of tasty beverages, music, bikes and a crafted foodie culture. We are tea central in the middle of all that. The entrepreneurial spirit and environmental sustainability focus of the local business community inspires us, not to mention, the surrounding mountains, rivers and open space!

What are some of your favorite things to do in Fort Collins? 

We have an incredible music scene, there is always a name brand artist passing through and new up-and-coming artists to discover just about any night of the week. The annual spring FoCoMX local music festival is one of our favorite events of the year. We love the Poudre River and spend as much time paddling it as possible. Eight months of the year we enjoy biking to breweries, music venues, restaurants and yes, the teahouse!

What is the story behind how you started Happy Lucky's Teahouse?

We started the business in September 2009 when there was nowhere in town to get a good cuppa tea - literally no teahouse in Fort Collins! We started as a tearoom in the back of a silk shop, because we were selling imported silk goods from Cambodia at the time to support an education organization we founded in Cambodia. After our first Christmas season we quickly found out there were lots of people "jonesing" for good tea in Fort Collins, so we moved the tea to the front of the house, built the Great Wall of Tea and renovated a tearoom in the back for people to hang out and socialize over a pot of tea, because that’s what builds community in our hyper multi-tasked world.  And we still support those schools in Cambodia as well!

Tell us about yourself... 

George & Kari Grady Grossman are the married co-owners of Happy Lucky’s Teahouse. We left our independent careers in wildlife videography and adventure writing in Wyoming and came to Fort Collins to raise our young children, both adopted from Cambodia and India respectively. George the photographer went back to his roots as a CPA to start-up the Happy Lucky’s Teahouse and Kari published a book about Cambodia to start-up Sustainable Schools International, an international education organization. Prior to that we owned and sold a guest service photography business in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Kari wrote for The Discovery Channel online, covering stories from the Iditarod to Mt. Everest. However, once young children came into our lives we really wanted to be a part of the community we lived in, so we left all that and started a tea business in an old firehouse.

What do you want visitors to experience at Happy Lucky's? 

Building community connections. We like to share how culture, lifestyle, health and happiness boil down to just three elements: Water, Tea, and Time. We offer a highly interactive, informative and immersive tea experience. Our knowledgeable Leafsters (staff) will help you explore the Great Wall of Tea and make recommendations for your unique palate, lifestyle and well-being. It’s a great atmosphere to relax by yourself, enjoy a date, or plan a work meeting, and the tea is available loose leaf, by the ounce, to take home or brewed in classic teaware for your in-store enjoyment. You can hang out by the front windows, relax in the tea room, enjoy the outdoor seating, or saddle up at the tea bar and watch the Leafsters "work." Sitting at the tea bar is a great way to talk tea and if the timing is right, you may get in on a Leafster’s special tea tasting.

Anything else you wanted to add…

Why is it called Happy Lucky's? Nourish Your Happy: Mindful attention to savoring an experience has been scientifically proven to reduce stress. Be Your Lucky: A positive mind attracts positive experience. We’re here to nourish your Happiness through the experience of great tea!

Happy Lucky’s Teahouse

Address: 236 Walnut Street & 2720 Council Tree Ave. #166
Phone: 970-689-3417
Email:  teahouse@happyluckys.com            
Hours of Operation: Monday - Thu 9am-8pm, Fri & Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 10am-6pm
Website:  www.happyluckys.com       
Twitter: @happyluckys
Facebook: @HappyLuckysTeahouse
Instagram: happyluckysteahouse
Pinterest: happyluckystea             
Yelp: happy-luckys-teahouse-fort-collins-2
Trip Advisor: Happy Lucky’s