André’s ‘Bittersweet’ Tea Room Closes as Chocolate Sales Surge

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After decades, you have just over a week left to dine at André’s beloved Confiserie Suisse tearoom at 50^th and Main in Kansas City. If you go to the farewell meal, Rene Bollier said you won’t be alone!

I met Bollier, André’s president and executive pastry chef, in the tea room where he grew up. His grandparents André and Elsbeth Bollier opened André’s in 1955. They came to the United States from Switzerland to open a chocolate shop. Since 1976, they’ve been serving delicious Swiss food in the current location, with the tea room and familiar chalet out back.

Bollier said they needed space to make more chocolate as their sales increased.

“We’ve had tremendous growth, both locally and nationally, in the chocolate business. We’re really short on space, so we had to make the difficult decision to find more space,” Bollier said. “The tea room is a great part of the business, but our main focus has always been lunch. It’s an area of ​​the business that’s not used all day. So we realized there were better ways to utilize that space, so that’s why we made that decision.”

Bollier said they had been discussing what they were going to do for a year. “The tea room used to be, for decades, about fifty percent of our annual turnover, and it’s still a significant part, but with the increase in chocolate sales, it went down to about 9 percent and now chocolate is about 60 percent.”

Bollier not only grew up learning the family business, he also spent three years training in Switzerland.

Customers began to fill the tea room while I was there on a Wednesday morning. Amelia McIntyre was there for her first of two farewell meals in memory of a dear friend who has since passed away.

“She loved coming here, we would have breakfast and share a slice of quiche. She was a very special person, so it brings back memories of people from the past,” she said. She will also return Saturday morning. “There are a lot of memories here. Even my sons, who are now 37 and 32, would come for breakfast sometimes.”

“It really means a lot to us and a lot of other people,” Bollier said. “Believe me, I’ve sat in this space many nights over the last few months just thinking about how bitter this is.”

It’s important to note that you’ll still be able to enjoy full-service dining at André’s, but it will be concentrated primarily at the front of their building. Bollier said you’ll still be able to order his grandfather’s quiche Lorraine recipe or their chicken vol au vent. You only have until August 17^th but to eat at the tea room.