Our Story
Mary's Story
Chai House is an idea that has been gestating for many years in the mind of Mary Lowisz. Mary is married with two grown children who are now on their own, and a husband, who resides in an assisted-living facility due to a traumatic brain injury he suffered in a bicycle accident in 2001. This accident effectively left Mary as a single-mom to raise her two young daughters with a mountain of continual medical bills. At the time of the accident, Mary had just completed her first semester of nursing school, earning her A.D.N in Nursing in 2004, her Nursing Baccalaureate in 2009, and her Master of Science in Nursing in 2011.
Over the years as a critical care nurse at hospitals in the Madison, Wisconsin area, Mary has come to the realization that as much as she loves being a nurse, the extreme physical demands make this a precipitous career that could end with one injury. So, developing a plan to carry her into and through retirement has been a priority.
Mary also loves tea. As with anything that sparks an interest with Mary, she researches and learns as much as she can about it. Did we mention Mary loves tea? Like many, she loves the rituals of tea, the trappings of tea, and the stories about the people and the places behind the tea. The world of tea is a treasure trove for Mary’ insatiable curiosity. All of which has given birth to her dream of being in the tea business.
Jack's Story
Jack Herbert has spent his career in the corporate world of sales and marketing, having held various positions in mid-level and executive level management. Jack holds B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Connecticut, with a concentration in marketing and strategic planning. His background includes more than 30 years of marketing and sales experience, working primarily for manufacturing companies. Like many, he has entrepreneurial dreams and has been involved in two previous start-ups.
Several years ago, Jack had traveled to the Republic of Georgia to attend the wedding of a close friend. While there, he became thoroughly enamored with Georgian people, culture, and tradition. Not to mention, the majestic beauty of this wonderful country. One might say he is smitten with all things Georgian. Since returning from this trip, Jack had been exploring the potential for doing business in this Eastern European country and has helped create an opportunity with Chai House.
The Chai House Story
Mary began attending St. Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church in Madison, Wisconsin in 2017, where Jack was already a long-time member and a subdeacon. Since then, the two have become close friends, Mary introducing Jack to her love of masala chai and tea, and Jack sharing his affinity for the country of Georgia.
As conversations between Mary and Jack about their faith and eventually their respective professional plans unfolded, it became obvious their paths were on similar trajectories. They also recognized that not only did their respective plans complement each other, but so did their skill sets. So, they started collaborating on Mary’s idea for a tea business.
As a result of their tea industry research, Mary and Jack not only read how tea producers are not receiving appropriate recognition by middlemen and how retailers do not “give credit where credit is due”, but that Georgia was in the process of trying to revitalize a once thriving tea industry. As such, they decided their company would focus on developing mutually beneficial partnerships directly with tea growers, celebrating and promoting the grower’s skill and expertise, terroir and tea history, starting with those in Georgia.
