Who created Mrs. Tea's Garden & why a tearoom?
After teaching for 10 years, and many thoughts of owning my own tearoom, simply because I love afternoon tea, Stuart and I decided to go for it! Although Stuart owns his own business, Taylor Tile & Wood, Inc., installing tile, wood floors, etc., we really had no idea what we were getting into with opening a tearoom. And really, thank goodness for that! Had we any idea, we may have never had the guts to do it!
Our first year of trying to open "the first" Mrs. Tea's didn't exactly work out very well. We learned a lot...always use a lawyer with any contracts! Although, in the end, we ended up with a much better location. Being tucked away in The Village Center of Lutz, on US 41, we have been told many times we are "the best kept secret in Lutz."
After many, many hours of discussing and planning, we finally came up with our vision of a tearoom. We designed Mrs. Tea's Garden Tearoom as a casual, relaxing English countryside tearoom, incorporating scenes from his childhood. Then Stuart had the huge task of actually making it happen!
Unbelievebly, he did this twice, no less! Painting, tiling, knocking down walls, building walls, creating a kitchen, building a gazebo, making a "house" inside, making the tables, ...all this while still working during the day! So within 4 weeks of leasing our second location, "#2 New Cottages Hare Street (Stuart's childhood address)" we were licensed & ready to open for business in Lutz!
Nearly three years later, business is growing and growing. Word has spread that we are here and the secret is out! We would like to thank everyone that helped make Mrs. Tea's become a success!