By Brooke Hill | Copy Editor

Tea2Go’s Waco location is being rebranded as NobiliTea as Tea2Go seeks chapter seven bankruptcy protection.

In a chapter seven bankruptcy claim, the bankruptcy trustee gathers and sells the debtor’s (Tea2Go) nonexempt assets and uses the proceeds of such assets to pay holders of claims. The claim said the company has less than $50,000 in assets and over $1 million in debts, according to KXXV.

NobiliTea Dallas Regional Manager Jaysen Sandersen said Tea2Go is no longer involved in the ownership of the Waco store.

“NobiliTea is a separate company and has no affiliation with Tea2Go,” Sandersen said in an email interview. “We strive to provide excellent customer service, just as Tea2Go has always done, as well as be apart of the communities we call home.”

Franchisee and Waco store owner Ford Ferrer told the Waco Tribune-Herald the founding owners of Tea2Go offered franchisees the choice of continuing to operate under that name or go their separate ways. He said about 15 percent decided to stick with Tea2Go, mainly in West Texas areas.

“Our store in Waco is doing fantastic, and the ownership and product line will remain exactly the same,” Ferrer told the Waco Tribune-Herald.

San Diego junior Olivia McIntyre said she was shocked to hear that Tea2Go had filed for bankruptcy.

“Every time I go in it’s always so busy,” McIntyre said. “It didn’t really make sense to me.”

McIntyre suggested that part of what makes Tea2Go so popular amongst Baylor students could be due to Baylor’s large out of state population. She said she regards sweet tea as a southern staple that many out of state students never enjoyed before coming to Waco.

“I never had sweet tea until I came here, so I feel like it’s something different for people who are out of state who aren’t used to it,” McIntyre said.

The products currently in the store won’t be changing, according to Sandersen.

McIntyre said that she doesn’t expect the store to become any less popular because of the rebranding.

“I’ll still go as long as they still have my favorite tea — that’s the only reason I go. I get the same thing every time,” McIntyre said.

Nobilitea, not to be confused with NobiliTeaCo, has several locations opening up all across the US this year, from California to Florida.

Eight Tea2Go locations will be converting over to the Nobilitea brand. 32 additional Nobilitea locations that had not previously been affiliated with Tea2Go are set to open before July 1.

All store rebranding, inside and out, will be completed before June 30th.