Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristie Whites.
Hi Kristie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
If you had told me several years ago that I would trade technology, startups and digital marketing for teacups, scones and a tearoom in my hometown, I probably would have laughed. But looking back, the path from tech to tea makes more sense than you might think.
I spent much of my career in Austin working in marketing, technology and the startup world. I founded a digital marketing company, worked with incredible organizations and entrepreneurs, helped build companies and communities, produced events and programs, spoke on stages across the country, and had opportunities I never imagined when I first started my career. Along the way, I was fortunate to receive recognition from organizations including the City of Austin, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Austin Business Journal.
Technology taught me how to build brands, tell stories and create communities. But it also showed me something else.
We had become incredibly good at connecting people digitally, while somehow becoming less connected to one another personally.
Eventually, I found myself coming home to Belton and building something that felt very different from my previous career, yet strangely familiar.
I founded Ruby Tearoom with a vision for something that went beyond simply serving tea. I wanted to create a place built around experiences, connection and community. But I also knew that bringing that vision fully to life would require someone with strengths very different from my own.
That person was my longtime friend, Executive Chef Sara Nevarez. Sara and I met in college and were roommates years before Ruby was ever imagined. I pitched her on the idea of joining me and helping bring Ruby Tearoom to life. She brought her culinary talent and creativity to the table, while I brought my background in business, marketing, experience-building and community. Together, those very different skill sets became the foundation for what Ruby Tearoom is today.
And somewhere along the way, tea became the bridge between those worlds.
Today, Ruby Tearoom is about much more than serving a beautiful pot of tea. Our mission is CommuniTEA. We create experiences that give people a reason to sit down together, put away the screens, talk, laugh, celebrate and make memories.
I sometimes joke that I went from tech to tea, but in many ways, I am still doing exactly what I have always done: building community and bringing people together.
I just do it with better china now.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road, but I don’t think anything worth building ever really is.
I came into Ruby Tearoom with years of experience in business, marketing and startups, so I understood how to build a brand, create a strategy and grow an audience. What I didn’t know was how to run a tearoom. The hospitality and food industry has its own set of rules, and there was a very real learning curve.
In the beginning, we were figuring out everything from pricing and staffing to production, reservations, menus and what our guests actually wanted from us. Some ideas worked beautifully. Others taught us expensive lessons. We have had to be willing to change course when something wasn’t working, even when we were personally attached to the idea.
One of our biggest challenges has also been one of our greatest opportunities: Ruby has grown and evolved much faster than we originally imagined. What started as a small tearoom has become Afternoon Tea, private parties, themed experiences, community events, collaborations, retail tea and off-site events. With every new opportunity comes the question of how to grow without losing the intimacy and connection that made people fall in love with Ruby in the first place.
And, of course, there is the reality of small business ownership. There are days when you are the owner, marketer, dishwasher, event planner, server, problem solver and person changing the toilet paper roll, sometimes all within the same hour.
The biggest lesson has been learning to stay flexible. The vision for Ruby has never changed. We want to bring people together. But how we accomplish that continues to evolve.
Two years in, we are still learning, still adjusting and still building. I think that’s exactly how it should be.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Ruby Tearoom, LLC?
Ruby Tearoom is an experiential tearoom and bakery in downtown Belton, Texas, built around a simple mission: CommuniTEA.
Of course, we serve tea, but what we really create are reasons for people to gather.
Our guests come to us for traditional Afternoon Tea, handcrafted scones and pastries, premium loose-leaf teas, private celebrations and immersive themed experiences. We also take tea beyond our walls through community events, collaborations with other local businesses and off-site experiences throughout Central Texas.
What sets Ruby apart is that we don’t believe Afternoon Tea should feel stuffy or intimidating. We love the traditions, etiquette and beautiful china that have surrounded tea for generations, but we aren’t afraid to have a little fun with them. One weekend might be a traditional Afternoon Tea, while another event could involve costumes, crafts, tarot cards, a murder mystery or an entire room going a little mad for Alice in Wonderland.
Chef Sara and I bring very different, but complementary, strengths to Ruby. Sara leads our culinary side, developing our menus and creating the scratch-made food, pastries and scones our guests have come to know us for. My role spans the business and creative sides of Ruby. I develop and design our events and experiences, build the brand and guest experience, and curate our tea collection and tea pairings. I’m also currently working toward my Tea Master certification, deepening my knowledge of the history, production, preparation and traditions of tea.
For me, designing an experience is about much more than choosing a theme. I think about how the room feels when someone walks in, what is on the table, what tea is in their cup, what food accompanies it, what they will do while they’re there and, most importantly, how we can encourage them to connect with the people around them. Sara then brings another layer of creativity through the food. That collaboration is a huge part of what makes Ruby, Ruby.
I’m especially proud that Ruby has become a place where people celebrate life’s moments, but also somewhere people can simply belong. We’ve watched strangers meet at our community tables and leave as friends. We’ve seen multiple generations gather for tea, local businesses become collaborators instead of competitors, and guests return again and again because they feel like they’re part of what we’re building.
As we grow, we’re also expanding Ruby beyond the tearoom itself through our curated loose-leaf tea collection, elevated tea services and larger experiential events.
At the heart of all of it is the same idea: tea has been bringing people to the table for centuries.
We’re simply finding new ways to keep that tradition alive.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I think tea is positioned for an incredible next chapter.
For years, coffee and cocktails have dominated the way Americans think about gathering, but I believe tea is beginning to claim a much larger place in that conversation. People are looking for experiences that feel more intentional, and they are increasingly interested in ways to socialize that don’t necessarily revolve around alcohol. Tea fits beautifully into both.
I also think we’re going to see consumers become much more knowledgeable about tea. Just as people learned to appreciate where their coffee beans come from or the difference between wines and growing regions, there is an enormous opportunity for people to discover that tea is so much more than a bag dropped into hot water. Origin, terroir, processing, preparation, tradition and ceremony all create an incredible world to explore.
Hospitality itself is changing too. People can buy almost anything online and have food delivered to their doorstep, so physical businesses have to offer something the internet can’t: an experience. I come from the technology world, and perhaps that’s why I feel so strongly about this. Technology will continue to become a bigger part of our lives, particularly with AI, but I believe that will make authentic human connection even more valuable.
That’s where I see businesses like Ruby going.
The tearoom of the future doesn’t have to abandon the traditions of the past. In fact, I think those traditions become more meaningful. Beautiful china, a properly prepared pot of tea, food made with care, conversation around a table and the simple ritual of taking time for one another can feel almost radical in a world that moves so quickly.
Over the next five to ten years, I expect tea to become more experiential, educational and accessible to a new generation. You’ll see more tea flights and tastings, innovative tea beverages, thoughtfully curated retail collections, immersive events and collaborations that take tea far beyond the traditional tearoom.
For Ruby, that’s incredibly exciting. We don’t want to reinvent tea. Tea has thousands of years of history and tradition behind it.
We want to help people rediscover why gathering over a cup of tea has lasted this long in the first place, and then have a little fun imagining where it can go next.
Pricing:
- Cream Tea: Starting at $25 per person
- Classic Afternoon Tea: Starting at $55 per person
- Private Tea Experiences: Starting at $75 per person
- Special Events & Themed Experiences: Pricing varies by experience
- Bakery & Loose-Leaf Tea: Available in the tearoom and online
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rubytearoom.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rubytearoom/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rubytearoom
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ruby-tearoom/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RubyTearoom
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ruby-tearoom-belton
