By Hank Russell
After spending nearly 30 years in the musical instrument business, Bill McGloine decided to follow a passion that his family shared: a spice and tea shop.
McGloine and his wife, Dorine, opened up The Spice & Tea Exchange in Patchogue last month and celebrated the occasion with a grand opening that ran from May 16 to May 18. The event drew in local elected officials, members of the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce and curious residents visiting the new establishment. In addition to the Patchogue location, the McGloines operate another shop in Port Jefferson, which opened in 2018.
“My wife is a registered nurse with a Master’s degree in nutrition,” McGloine explained. “She always practiced sports nutrition for our sons, who are athletes. One was a [college] wrestler, so nutrition and tea were always a big part of our lives. We would always go to tea shops all over Long Island. Our family was very much into tea.”
As for McGloine, he spent 28 years as vice president of Korg USA, a manufacturer of musical instruments based in Melville. “When I retired, this was sort of a good thing to do.”
Since the store is a franchise, all the products come from a single source. “We have a whole team of people who get the best products on earth,” McGloine said.
Some of the spices that the store carries include coriander, cumin, a variety of peppers and paprika, as well as saffron and vanilla bean, both of which he said are very difficult to find. The spice and tea blends are made in-shop. They also dehydrate the lemon, orange and lime peels and blend them into their tea and spice blends. They also make a zesty lemon garlic blend, in which the dehydrated peel is ground into a powder.
The best-selling spice, McGloine said, is the Tuscany blend. As for teas, it depends on the seasons. “When it comes to the summer, it’s dragonfruit fusion, and in the winter, our Earl Grey and our Lady Grey is really, really popular. The Red Hot Toddy, that’s also good in the winter. We sell a lot of Red Hot Toddies during the winter.”
McGloine said the store “is a good addition to this town” because of the unique experiences the store offers, not unlike The Cook’s Studio and The Amazing Olive. “People like to come [to Main Street] to eat, go to bars and drink, but the experience side is a big deal, too. People will spend one to two hours in here; we have 400 glass jars that you can open up. The people love it here.”
The Spice & Tea Exchange is located at 90 West Main Street. For more information, visit www.spiceandtea.com.