Aug 20, 2009

One step at a timeBy Kathryn KochWickedLocal.com

Plymouth, MA — The name The Twenty Tea and Spirit isn’t yet synonymous with people helping people, but its owners want it to be.

For Jeff Capen and his business partner Ethan Morgan, it’s a person’s inner spirit that matters. With similar interests and a similar philosophy on life, the two friends have agreed to carry out a 10-year strategic plan to help other people. Part of their plan was to open their own tea and gift shop.

A year ago, they started The Laughing Camel, an online store and Web site that lays out their plan for living day to day while at the same time moving them closer to their goal of building a halfway house for young men recovering from addictions to alcohol and drugs. In February their non-profit organization, TLC Oasis, was incorporated.

Capen, who had an ancestor on board the Mayflower, was born and raised in Plymouth, and while he has lived elsewhere, it was in Plymouth he wanted to open the physical storefront and complement The Laughing Camel brand with The Twenty Tea and Spirit brand. An Eagle Scout in his youth, he has a background in human services.

“I keep coming back here,” he said. “It’s the place I want to be.”

Capen and Morgan have also teamed up with executive pastry chef Laurie Anderson of Plymouth to create the Desserts Phirst brand.

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