No Wifi Here
New bookstore-tea shop in Near Southside wants guests to stop and steep

Notice of a new little shop in Fort Worth's Near Southside comes with this unusual pitch: it's wifi-free. That's because Leaves Book and Tea Shop wants customers to disconnect and catch their breath.
Opening September 1 at the Dickson-Jenkins Lofts and Plaza, 120 St. Louis Avenue, #101, Leaves will be a hybrid indie bookstore-tea cafe that invites people in to stop in and steep awhile.
Owners Tina and Todd Howard launched Leaves in 2017, and have set up pop-ups and demonstrations around town until they were ready to open a brick-and-mortar shop. Their Leaves sparkling tea has been on tap at nearby HopFusion Ale Works for nearly a year.
At their new shop, they'll sell individually-crafted hot and iced teas made from loose leaf teas, as well as tea flights. The menu includes more than 40 varieties of tea, including black, green, herbal, oolong, and chai. They'll keep two to three flavors of sparkling tea on tap, they say. And teas can be iced or turned into a latte. Bulk loose leaf tea will also be available for sale.
While sipping, customers can peruse and purchase a well-edited selection of books and magazines that, the owners say, "are focused on content that provokes thought and discussion." Topics might include art and innovation, the environment, race in America, parenting, and women, they say. (Go elsewhere for gossip magazines and selfie how-to books.)
And yes, guests will be encouraged to put down their phones, reflect, discover and be present, they say.
“The culture of both tea and books calls for people to slow down and be present, which completely aligns with our vision,” says owner Tina Howard in a release. “We hope Leaves will be a space where community will gather and people will pause from life’s hectic pace.”
That philosophy is in line with other new Fort Worth gathering spots — like Game Theory board game lounge — encouraging people to interact more with each other in person.
Leaves' soft opening, with limited days and hours, will begin August 21. When it officially opens September 1, hours of operation will be 7 am-7 pm Tuesday through Friday and 8 am-8 pm Saturday.