What DAVIDsTEA is known for
David Segal and his cousin Herschel Segal — who had already built Le Château into a mainstay of Canadian fashion retail — founded DAVIDsTEA in 2008, headquartering the company in Montreal while opening its first store on Queen Street in Toronto that same year; the first Montreal location followed in 2009.
David Segal and his cousin Herschel Segal — who had already built Le Château into a mainstay of Canadian fashion retail — founded DAVIDsTEA in 2008, headquartering the company in Montreal while opening its first store on Queen Street in Toronto that same year; the first Montreal location followed in 2009. The original concept centered on immersive, educational retail: in-store tastings, staff consultations, and more than 150 loose-leaf varieties, a format that helped the chain expand to 240 locations across Canada and the US within a decade.
The company underwent a major financial reorganization in 2020, permanently closing all 42 US stores and 166 of its Canadian locations, and has continued operating and rebuilding from its Montreal base since, now led by CEO Sarah Segal, Herschel's daughter.
Founded by the cousin of one of Canadian retail's best-known names and built around teaching customers loose-leaf tea rather than just selling bags of it, DAVIDsTEA remains a distinctly Montreal-rooted specialty chain even after its 2020 contraction.
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — Over 150 loose-leaf tea varieties with in-store tastings and staff
Canada
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Where next
- LockCha Tea House — Hong Kong
- Alice's Tea Cup — New York
- Tao Tea Leaf — Toronto
Hand-curated for ORBIS · no paid placement