'Tea Parties' complicate tea marketing

CHICAGO, March 8 (UPI) -- Chicago-area businesses that make their money from tea say the conservative Tea Party political movement is complicating online publicity.

Tony Gebely, a Chicago man who recently started the online business chicagoteagarden.com, said he has trouble finding his own Web site from online search pages, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.

"When I look at search engine results for 'Chicago tea,' I find a whole bunch of Chicago Tea Party movement sites," Gebely said. "There are a few tea places and then all this political stuff. It's pretty annoying."

Dan Robertson, owner of The Tea House in Naperville, Ill., said a client of his, a Memphis store called the Memphis Tea Party, is experiencing similar problems with the presence of a Memphis Tea Party organization.

"Clearly that name is going to cause some confusion," Robertson said.

Gregory Ward, a professor of linguistics at Northwestern University, said the shifting meaning of "tea party" in the popular lexicon could lead businesses such as the American Girl Place doll store, which hosts tea parties for young girls, to rename the traditional events.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see a place like American Girl start avoiding the term 'tea party,' even though we know the tea party from England, the afternoon tea have nothing to do with the political movement," Ward said. "My prediction would be we're going to find a replacement for that social event, if the political movement continues."