Bear returns to Gatlinburg tea shop as couple marks seventh anniversary inside
Gatlinburg, Tennessee sits within range of wildlife that occasionally finds its way into retail. The Spice & Tea Exchange experienced that again last Friday when a young bear that store employees said had already come through the…
Key takeaways
- A young bear entered The Spice & Tea Exchange in Gatlinburg, Tennessee last Friday, sampled the sweet-tea blend and tea diffusers, jumped onto the checkout counter, and left on its own after about 10 to 15 minutes.
- The bear was a repeat visitor that store employees said had already entered the shop earlier that same week.
- Joshua Card and Victoria Puyol were the only two people inside, celebrating their seventh anniversary when the bear appeared.
- A store clerk directed the couple behind the register near an emergency exit, and an employee from a neighboring business sounded an air horn that appeared to have little effect.
- Card said the bear seemed more interested in the merchandise than in the people standing a few feet away.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee sits within range of wildlife that occasionally finds its way into retail. The Spice & Tea Exchange experienced that again last Friday when a young bear that store employees said had already come through the door earlier in the same week returned, sampled the shop's sweet-tea blend and tea diffusers, and jumped onto the checkout counter. The animal left on its own roughly 10 to 15 minutes after it arrived, according to the two people inside.
Joshua Card and Victoria Puyol were in the shop celebrating their seventh anniversary when Card spotted the bear near the entrance. Puyol said she did not immediately process what she was seeing. She placed it only when Card and the store clerk both said it again.
Inside the shop
The clerk directed the couple behind the register, where an emergency exit was accessible. An employee from a neighboring business sounded an air horn. The couple said it appeared to have little effect.
Card, a military veteran with lifeguard experience, began recording as the bear moved toward the counter. He described feeling uncertain about what the young animal was capable of and whether to intervene or simply give it space. "This didn't really feel like an emergency," he said. "It felt unpredictable to me." When the bear jumped onto the counter, he stepped back. Card said he had briefly considered whether it was a show bear with a handler somewhere nearby, given how populated the area was. He concluded quickly that it was wild.
Puyol said she was shocked rather than frightened. She had told Card before the trip that she hoped to see a bear during the getaway. "Be careful what you wish for because I wanted to see a bear, not that up close and personal," she said.
The bear ran out before the clerk needed to route the couple through the alternate exit on the second floor. Card and the clerk shut the door and waited to confirm it was safe before leaving. Store employees told the couple afterward that the animal was a repeat visitor that had come in earlier in the week. The shop had already posted about that prior encounter, noting the young bear had "snagged some sugar and came back for more."
Card described the full trip as "filled with oddities." On balance, he said, the bear appeared more interested in the merchandise than in the people standing a few feet away.
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