For this new Selden Market business, Norfolk couple combines love of plants and tea

Michele Berkhimer isn’t afraid to admit she has a plant obsession. And Travis DiPerna isn’t shy about sharing that he can’t get enough of coffee and tea cafés.

So the couple combined their love for both and put down roots in Norfolk for their business, Potted. The all-in-one plant shop and tea café opened Tuesday as an incubator business in Selden Market, operated by the Downtown Norfolk Council.

Berkhimer, who cares for more than 200 houseplants in their Norfolk home, handles everything greenery-related at the business, including the pots and array of plants for sale from succulents to tropical. She’s responsible for the soil bar for repotting and green-thumb guidance.

Working every day with and among plants is a dream come true, she said.

“My dad and grandmother maintained a garden in our backyard and I’ve helped since I was in diapers,” she said. “My mom maintained houseplants and one of my chores was to water them, but it wasn’t a chore because it was always something I enjoyed doing.”

DiPerna is in charge of the tea menu at Potted, which features an assortment of handcrafted hot and cold bubble teas. He also lines up a featured drink of the day.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a Navy veteran, DiPerna said he always visited unique cafés during his travels. It was a trip last year to Denver, Colorado, with Berkhimer that unexpectedly brought them to a plant and coffee shop, spurring the idea to open their own in Hampton Roads.

“We decided we needed to bring that back home to the community,” she said.

They started their road to entrepreneurship last fall with a mobile espresso cart and plant shop. Hosts of followers quickly shared their love for the idea, drawn to their pop-up markets throughout South Hampton Roads.

They were elated at the opportunity to move their business into a brick-and-mortar so quickly, DiPerna said. But they haven’t retired their mobile cart just yet. They plan to continue with pop-ups in the future and want to incorporate catering.

Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@pilotonline.com