Tea Bar & Bites changing ownership

Tea Bar & Bites Bakery & Cafe, a fixture of the Rountree commercial area, is changing ownership.

Founder Colleen Smith reached a deal to sell the 621 S. Pickwick Ave. restaurant to Eleanor Taylor and Vance Hall, according to a news release. The sale is slated to close Jan. 1 for undisclosed terms.

“We’ve been honored to be a part of the Springfield and Rountree community for the last 21 years,” Smith said in the release. “I always tried to create a home away from home where people are treated like family and can expect a consistent, quality dining experience.”

Taylor and Hall are the owners of Prairie Pie in downtown Springfield at 307 S. Jefferson Ave. Hall said via email that the business partners would continue to operate Prairie Pie in addition to Tea Bar & Bites.

"Tea Bar will offer Prairie Pie baked goods, frozen take-'n'-bake pot pies, ice cream and more starting in January," said Hall.

Smith founded Tea Bar & Bites in January 2004, and the restaurant has operated at its Pickwick Avenue home for the extent.

Tea Bar & Bites' menu includes breakfast items such as sandwiches and burritos, lunch options like the Mediterranean platter and hummus, and a beverage array that includes a variety of teas, according to its website.

Taylor and Hall opened Prairie Pie's brick-and-mortar space in 2021, nearly five years after the company was founded, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

“My baking career began in the kitchen at Tea Bar & Bites," Taylor said in the release. "Colleen inspired me to pursue my baking dreams, and it’s an honor to carry on the Tea Bar legacy.”