Tea in the Library

the long version

Fulfilling the dream of many a book-lover, Annette Freeman bravely stepped outside her mid-life comfort zone and opened a bookshop café in the heart of Sydney. Tea In The Library became a beloved haven of readers and a cosy forum for writers, plus a great place for coffee – and nineteen varieties of tea. But behind the scenes were anxieties large and small, frustrations, challenges, and – now and again - glorious moments of success. Welcome to retail! “How hard can it be to run a successful small business?” Annette asked herself. “People do it every day. It can’t be rocket science.” We find the answer to that question, and it is sobering news for those wannabe bookshop or café owners out there. The triumphs and disasters, the eccentric characters and the myriad challenges of retail are spiced with wry observation and a good sprinkling of literary references. In the end, everyone will have a view on what could have been done differently to save a small bookshop café that briefly lit up the Sydney literary scene.