EAST ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The owners of La-Tea-Da Café and Tea Room have taken their lumps.
"I rose out of the ashes," said Maureen Becker. "If people remember, I had a fire January 1, 2015 and that was out of my control, of course, but this has been more controlled so I can say good-bye that I feel the correct way because I love my customers."
The fire forced Becker and her husband, Al Pratt, to abandon the original location on the corner of Alexander Street and Park Avenue in Rochester. They reopened here on West Commercial Street in the village of East Rochester seven months later.
Now, they're they're looking to sell. After working in kitchens here and across the country for nearly 50 years, Pratt questions how much longer he can keep going at his current pace.
"My health has been on the slide so I need to slow right down," Pratt said. "I don't think I'll ever fully retire, take the retirement thing. I know the energy I have is one thing, the health issues is another."
The couple put La-Tea-Da on the selling block back in October, but they won't sell to just anyone. They're looking for a buyer that will keep the whimsical tea room atmosphere.
"We are speaking to one young lady but she has to love it almost as much as I do, so we'll see what happens," Becker said.
La-Tea-Da will close from Jan. 1 - 10, the couple's annual vacation week. There is no firm time as to when they'll hand over the business to someone else, but when that day comes, both said it'll be tough to leave.
"You've got to love your job and love what you do," Pratt said. "It shows in the food, the caring that we give to the customers, the wait staff's always smiling, laughing, joking. It's a big family here."
Maureen and Al have nearly 80 years combined in the restaurant business. It's in their blood and they'd like to stay in it in one form or another.
"I will not say good-bye, I will say 'ta-ta for now,'" Becker said.