Hi, I'm Joanne's son...thought that I would add some comments about our experience.
I have been to a number of tea shops in New York City, New Jersey, and elsewhere.
I was surprised by our experience at "The Tea Gallary".
First, it was a very very hot day. We stopped by around 1pm, and it looked like he was just opening the store. So we were hot and tired.
The store was not air conditioned well. We were not offered anything to drink. We asked to have a cup of tea. We were told that they don't serve cups of tea.
Then we were told that we could do a tasting for $24. It was a little bit strange. He wasn't very enthusiastic about serving us.
I wandered around the store for a little bit, it was cute, but disorganized. I had trouble figuring out what tea was for sale.
I think there might have been a little bit of a cultural barrier. He didn't seem to understand why we were annoyed.
In contrast, my fiancee and our friends went to Cha Ma Gu Dao Tea in Montclair, New Jersey this weekend. We walked in and were offered free samples of ICED TEA. You know, because it was freaking hot outside. The service was friendly and they didn't try to force us to buy anything. We ended up buying some of the loose tea, because it was that good. They have a bar where you can sample tea and a wide open area inside with tables where you can sit down with your laptop, surf the internet and enjoy a cup of hot tea. We've also been to Franchia, where you can sit down and order a cup of tea as well as participating in a sampling.
In short, if you are going to have a store front in New York City, understand that when someone walks into your store, treat them with respect and offer them some tea.