Sean Kavanagh-Dowsett, 56, co-owner of Tea & Sympathy and two other English-themed shops, former model

BY KATHRYN ADISMAN | Sean Kavanagh-Dowsett, the co-owner of the trio of English eateries and shops on Greenwich Avenue — Tea & Sympathy, Carry On Tea & Sympathy, and A Salt & Battery — died under hospice care at home on Bank Street on Thurs., April 27. He was 56.

He was diagnosed with Stage 4 adenoma esophageal carcinoma in June 2021 during COVID and beat it and was back at work, when, in late February, it was discovered that the cancer had moved to his brain.

He is survived by his wife, Nicky Perry, 63, their daughter, Audrey Kavanagh-Dowsett, 19, and, in England, his mother, Patricia, 85, and twin sisters, Tara and Scarlett.

The huge outpouring of emotion in the community is a testament to the universal love Sean inspired.

“I’ve never seen so many men cry!” Perry said.

“Kind” was the first word that came to mind when Nicky described her spouse of 27 years. “He would do anything for you,” she said, recalling how he’d go to the supermarket and end up carrying a stranger’s groceries.

She called Sean “the best husband. We were madly in love 27 years!” she said. Every day he would tell her, “I love you more than you could know!”

They met in 1994 when he was a customer at her restaurant Tea & Sympathy. At the time he had a career in modeling and film. The fashion designer John Bartlett said Sean was his first model. Sean was quite the “dandy” wearing his own outfits. He appeared in a Madonna/Britney Spears video.

He was born on Oct. 14, 1966, in Northampton outside of London to father Harry Dowsett, the head of London restaurants, and Irish mother Patricia Kavanagh. Sean attended Bedford, a boarding school. His father died when Sean was 11. He came to the States on a 10-day modeling trip and never left.

On their first date, Nicky recalled he said to her, “The two of us — we could conquer the world together!”

Nicky opened Tea & Sympathy in December 1990. Together, they opened Carry on Tea & Sympathy in 1996 and A Salt & Battery in 2000.

Perry said Sean was “so smart” — a mechanical wiz who could take apart a toaster and put it back together again.

“He could have done anything,” she said. “He would be able to land a plane!”

She mentioned his “wit” and “sense of humor” and “charm!” He wouldn’t suffer fools. “He lived life on his own terms,” she said.

Their daughter, Audrey, seems to be following in her father’s footsteps. She has been living in the U.K. since high school when she started attending Haileybury, an English boarding school.She learned friendship and responsibility and played lacrosse, just as her father had played rugby.

“He wanted me to have a similar experience,” Audrey said.

Currently she is attending the journalism program at the City University of London — though had to drop out to be with her family. She recalled the first time, coming home, when Sean didn’t pick her up at J.F.K. Airport. He always would in the past, bringing a Caesar salad.

“I was only 16,” she said. “I just knew!”

Audrey is writing her father’s eulogy.

“He taught me a lot about friendship,” she said. “He’s always been a solid friend.” She said the support “from the people he touched over the years” has been overwhelming and is a theme.

“He did good for good people,” his daughter said. “He liked to make people happy. He went out of his way to do favors. He always said he had the Bat-Phone! He was a problem-solution kind of guy, he did not wallow.”

After his surgery three years ago to remove his entire esophagus, he sprung right back. Two weeks after the chemo, he was on the subway carrying his feeding tube in a backpack.

“He was a f—ing warrior!” Audrey said.

“When I was in high school, my father and I would argue constantly!” she recalled. She likened it to the two of them jousting.

“He is a giant child,” she said. “He would build crazy Halloween costumes — with robotics! He used to be a production art director.”

After they saw the movie “Maleficent” together, he decided to make his own version of horns and wings, taking up the entire basement of their house.

“Playful and protective” is how Audrey characterized her dad. She said she was lucky to have a boyfriend who wasn’t scared off when she first introduced him and “the back-pocket knife came out!”

“He wore a Leatherman [multi-tool] on his belts and was an avid handyman who kept all three businesses humming,” recalled Peter Gonzalez, the owner of Johnny’s Bar just down the block from Tea & Sympathy. “He was a very good neighbor. He looked out for the block on Greenwich Avenue. He was always there to lend a hand. Whenever the Council people that take care of our area were interested in getting feedback from small businesses, they would talk to him and Nicky.”

“I grew up in those restaurants,” Audrey said proudly.

She thinks she takes after her father, whom she calls “my biggest critic and friend, challenging me in a playful and constructive way.” Sean would tell her, “You’re not having fun if you’re not getting into trouble. Get into creative trouble!”

“He has made me who I am, instilled in me his values,” she said. “He had the utmost integrity.”

His wife Nicky Perry called the timing of Sean’s passing “odd,” with the coronation of King Charles on Saturday, May 6. But Nicky knows people will be coming to her shops from overseas to celebrate the royals, and she is determined to be there.

A memorial service will be held at Greenwich Village Funeral Home, 199 Bleecker St., on Tues., May 9, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sharpies will be provided for everyone who wants to pen a message to Sean on his casket.