An ice cream seller whose vans are known for over-the-top offerings piled with cookie dough, Cadbury's eggs, Kinder Bueno and lashings of sauce has vowed not to be put off by 'any aggro' from other food outlets as he looks to open a takeaway in St Austell.
Mr Tee, the self-styled 'King of Desserts', is one of the UK's most famous ice cream sellers, with hundreds of people queuing every time he crosses the Tamar.
The entrepreneur, known for his viral social media presence and bright, chirpy style, has been bringing his vans to Cornwall for years.
Last month he announced he had found a venue on Trinity Street in St Austell, planning to open a kebab and burger joint that would also sell his famous desserts, ice creams and milkshakes.
The businessman from Wrexham, who runs several other shops and ice cream vans within a 90-minute drive of his home town, said he had been ready to open his first Cornish venue but was forced to pull out when another food outlet in Cornwall's largest town gave him some aggro over his proposed shop.
"I was looking forward to it and proper excited about it," Mr Tee, whose real name is Tee Smith, said. "I had my machinery in and even registered the business and had my internet sorted. I was ready to get the keys in for a new house. Everything was in place."
He said a local food trader came round and made their 'strong concerns' known to him about the competition he would bring to the town.
"I'm not used to this kind of aggro. I just want a peaceful life. I'm just a happy kind of guy. I thought this kind of abuse was going nowhere. I don't want to make enemies of anyone in the town."
Mr Tee said his landlord and the other food outlet's landlord got involved, and he could see it escalating for no reason.
As a result, he announced on social media that the Trinity Street venue for his kebab, burgers and desserts takeaway would no longer go ahead.
However, he said the decision to follow the competition's advice to 'move away and they wouldn't care' may now turn out to be an even better business decision.
"What it boils down to is they felt scared that I would take business away from them. I get it. I can see where's they're coming from. But I don't like feeling threatened or intimidated. They can't stop me from opening a business."
"I'm in the process of looking at other premises in the town which might turn out to be even better."
The entrepreneur told CornwallLive that he has already sold his Trinity Street shop's top of the range machinery to the very people who don't want him there. He is now looking at new premises further away, with a view, if all goes well, to open within the next six weeks to two months.
Mr Tee said he has been looking at premises in St Columb, but the one he has strong hopes for is in St Austell. It boasts onsite and on-road parking, a seating area inside, a flat upstairs, and is not going to be blighted by 18 months of roadwork. It is also far enough from the competition that there should be room for everyone.
"It's a bigger unit. It's very nice and probably more suitable for my business," Mr Tee told us. "I think everything happens for a reason so I'll be even better."
"The St Austell story for me is not finished. It's just started."
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Mr Tee Vows to Open St Austell Business Despite Rival Aggro