KITCHENER - When the pandemic struck, George Broughton did what a lot of small business owners have done - he went into survival mode.

In just a day or two, he and his wife, Susan Parks, transformed their All Things Tea shop in Belmont Village into a phone-order business complete with free home delivery, seven days a week, with a minimum $25 tea purchase.

Broughton is the face of the business, taking and preparing orders and then jumping in his vehicle every day after 4 p.m. to deliver throughout Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge; on Fridays, he'll deliver to Guelph. Curbside pickup is also available. Parks developed the delivery website and handles social media.

"I actually thought it was going to be very slow," Broughton said. And for the first couple of days, it was. "That's changed. People have really caught on to the delivery concept."

And Broughton isn't just bringing his teas to his customers. He's partnered with several other small businesses to offer their products as add-ons to minimum $25 tea orders, or as part of themed kits.

There are scones and macarons from The Sconery, chocolates from Ambrosia Corner Bakery, and Smile Tiger coffee. There's local honey, farm-fresh eggs - even novels from author Lori Wolf-Heffner. Broughton's daily deliveries are farmers' market-meets-Amazon Prime.

"It really does feel like you're reaching out to your network," he said. "What businesses can I support that I care about?"

That spirit of co-operation and collaboration was there before, Broughton said; he'd carried some of those products prior to the pandemic. It just wasn't as pronounced. "It was always in the background, but it was unexpected for it to come to the foreground and become so obvious."

All Things Tea products have been offered at Ambrosia Corner Bakery for several years, and they're available in the pickup and delivery service that owner Aura Hertzog is now providing. Ambrosia also offers goods from businesses including Dinners by Derek, Fo'Cheezy, Eby Manor and Bailey's Local Foods.

"I think that a lot of us have always helped each other out and supported each other," Hertzog said. "We're trying a lot harder now to do it because we understand how important it is to survive."

Hertzog said she's grateful for the support she's seen from the community in recent weeks. "The response has been incredible," she said. "The community wants small businesses to survive."

Ron Sutherland, owner of The Sconery, said he appreciates the opportunity to have some of his baked goods offered with All Things Tea orders.

"Especially right now, every sale helps. It's definitely nice," Sutherland said. He's been trying to do some deliveries after-hours as well, but it's difficult with a young family at home. "I think we're trying to rally together and help each other out," he said. "We're all in the same boat."

Broughton said that packages sent as gifts to family, friends and front-line workers have proven especially popular. He's also preparing about 1,000 tea care packages that will be sent to a local firm's employees as a pick-me-up.

The quick pivot to a delivery model was initiated by an instinct to survive, Broughton said. But that human component, that sense of wanting to help and connect with other business owners, soon shone through.

"It really became people-driven," he said. "Right now, it really has a little more meaning than it used to."

bdavis@therecord.com

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Twitter: @DavisRecord