About Us
Alice Cravens: Owner, Executive Chef
Alice began really getting into tea as a business in the year 2000.What started out as helping a few restaurants with their tea needs became a passion for sharing delicious tea and delicious food in a way that would be enjoyable and accessible to the American public. She continues to help restaurants such as Chez Panisse, Zuni Café, Delfina and others with their tea needs and opened Modern Tea, a restaurant and retail shop in Hayes Valley, in the spring of 2006. Since then, a neighborhood following has blossomed and has led to further involvement with the community as Modern Cooks, an after school garden to table cooking program for local youth. Both subtle and strong, this all proves to Alice once again that tea is a great connector.
Greg Dunham: Interior Design
It all began one night when Greg was dabbling with water based oils and we were talking about Modern Tea. We wanted to create a look that could give the abstract impression of “more than tea” in a welcoming way. Without intentionally doing so, the painting Greg worked on as we talked ended up becoming our main logo.
A set designer, abstract artist and carpenter, Greg also designed and built our hand hewn tables out of recycled fir as well as other customized touches at our bar, in our retail area and soon, our baker’s table in the kitchen. When Greg isn’t making tea, he is supervising what happens in the theatre scene shop at SF State University.
Ivan Mora & Honora Dunham: Artwork
Ivan Mora of Mora Glass Works, is an accomplished glass blower, known for his ambitious multi-petal hanging sculptures, ranging in aesthetic from darkly dramatic to warmly peaceful. At Modern Tea, Ivan has branched out into architectural glass work, embedding fused glass into flowing metal sculptures constructed by Ethan Kerber. Ivan currently resides in San Francisco and is the technical director for Public Glass.
Honora Dunham is responsible for the abstract work of art that adorns our brick wall. Inspired by the less beaten path of daily life, anywhere from Mexican sugar skulls to shark’s eggs, this large wall hanging also functions as a wood block that has been used to make prints.
Look for more artistry as we build our collection.
