Detroit’s west side is thriving

On a block of Puritan Avenue that spent years behind boarded-up windows, something is now quietly and deliberately stirring. Books line the walls. Tea steeps in the kitchen. People linger a little longer than they planned to. And for the Detroit neighborhood that watched this building sit empty, the transformation feels deeply personal.

Nice’s Tea House, the Detroit-based wellness tea brand founded by Antonice Strickland in 2022, has officially returned, this time with a permanent home inside Howard Family Bookstore on the city’s west side. Following its grand opening on April 25, the new space has already emerged as something far greater than a retail destination. It is a living example of what two Black-owned Detroit businesses can build when they choose to invest in their own community together.

A brand that paused with purpose

Nice’s Tea House first introduced itself to the city in 2022, initially gaining a foothold through a partnership with Petty Cash, a Detroit-based restaurant, and through pop-up appearances at community events across southeast Michigan. The brand built a loyal following quickly, earning a reputation for teas that felt as intentional as they tasted.

But Strickland made a deliberate choice to step back. Rather than scale before the brand was ready, she used the pause to reassess how Nice’s Tea House could show up more meaningfully, not just as a product, but as a presence. That period of reflection ultimately led her to Howard Family Bookstore and to a vision rooted in place as much as purpose.

1 bookstore, 1 tea brand, 1 shared vision

Jerjuan Howard, founder of Howard Family Bookstore, has been quietly reshaping his stretch of the west side for years through initiatives like Umoja Village, located directly across from his grandparents’ home. For Howard, the bookstore has always been part of a broader effort to convert long-vacant spaces into living, breathing community assets.

The arrival of Nice’s Tea House inside the bookstore deepens that mission in a tangible way. Together, the 2 brands are modeling a kind of collaboration that the neighborhood can both see and feel, one centered on shared ownership, cultural pride and long-term investment rather than outside development or short-term gain.

What visitors will find inside

The tea menu at Nice’s Tea House reflects the same intentionality that has defined the brand from the beginning. Guests can choose from a lineup of thoughtfully constructed blends, each created with a specific purpose in mind. The Audacious Detroit Chai draws on the city’s layered, resilient identity through bold spicing. Jan’s Sweet Red, a vibrant fruit blend, carries a more personal meaning, named in memory of Strickland’s mother. Wellness-forward offerings like Abundance and Sage & Reset round out the menu, designed to support moments of restoration and clarity.

The experience of sitting inside a bookstore with a warm cup in hand is exactly the kind of unhurried, grounded moment that Nice’s Tea House has always been built around, a space where slowing down is the whole point.

A return that is also a beginning

For Strickland, reopening inside Howard Family Bookstore is not simply a comeback. It is the clearest articulation yet of what she has always wanted Nice’s Tea House to be: a brand embedded in community life, not orbiting it from the outside.

Plans are already underway to expand into retail offerings, allowing guests to bring their favorite blends home and extend the ritual beyond a single visit. Additional tea products are also in development, designed to deepen the connection between the brand’s wellness philosophy and everyday life.

For the residents of Detroit’s west side who have watched the building on Puritan Avenue transform from vacant to vital, the message is clear. When Detroiters build for Detroiters, the results have a way of lasting.

Nice’s Tea House is located inside Howard Family Bookstore. More information is available at nicesteahouse.com