Most watering holes along Sutter Street in the Historic Business District of Folsom cater to those who prefer alcoholic beverages, until now.

Karma Café, which unofficially opened in July but officially opened at the beginning of August, serves tea and sandwiches with salads. Anthony Sadeghi, the café’s owner, said his location is akin to being in the “lion’s belly of alcoholic beverages.”

Yet, the café matches other bars blow for blow, staying open until midnight most nights.

“There’s no set closing time. If there are still customers, I’ll stay open until 2 a.m., or I’ll even reopen if more customers come,” Sadeghi said.

Sadeghi, a photographer by trade, strives to keep a 1920s teahouse feel, specializing in teas from around the world.

The café is not just about the tea, said Sadeghi, it’s about the people and the events.

“I wanted to get a team, people who will grow with me,” he said, sipping espresso. “We have events. And I do nothing. Everything just happens here.”

While his colleagues call him crazy for opening the teahouse, business is good.

“We’ve been blessed with the locals’ support,” he said. “It’s true, we don’t make money off of the sandwiches. We get money from the tea. We make it up in volume sold.”

Rather than turn seats in his restaurant, shuffling customers through quickly, Sadeghi said he’d rather the customer come in, enjoy tea or espresso, and have a good time for a few hours.

“Everything is organic, nothing goes to waste,” he said.

He also believes that this is the perfect time and place for such places as a teahouse, or GelaYo, a yogurt joint that is more modern in feel that Sadeghi opened on Aug. 2 in Granite Bay.

“It’s time to get off the couch, do something for the economy,” he said. “I’ve lived all over the world, grew up in London, but I came here, to the ‘country of California,’ and it’s an amazing place, and people don’t see it. It’s the land of opportunity, it’s the time to get places like this.”