The Tea Cup Tea Room Bills Itself as 'Brandon's Best-Kept Secret'

Suzy Davis visits the Tea Cup Tea Room for the cranberry autumn tea, the chicken salad and the brownies. The ambiance, of course, is magnetic, too.

“I started coming because it is quiet and I can sit alone,” she said of the tea room, gift shop and catering business that bills itself as “Brandon’s best-kept secret.” “I do also bring my girlfriends and my clients.”

The eatery is run out of a converted home on Lithia Pinecrest Road, giving it the feeling that you are having tea and scones at a friend’s or relative’s house. The menu features a variety of homemade soups, sandwiches, salads and desserts, not to mention more than 50 different teas – most of them loose and of the English rather than Asian variety.

Lynn Davis (no relation to Suzy) runs the business with the help of her son Cameron, 18.

“The way we have tea here it’s a little classier than the average restaurant, but we also bring southern appeal,” Cameron said on a recent busy Tuesday.

Workers buzzed in and out of the kitchen while tables of women sipped tea, nibbled on epicurean delights and chatted about things both serious and silly. Customers can sit on the backyard deck or inside in one of the relaxed dining rooms.

Special events often are held here, including a recent Sweet 16 birthday celebration. Although meeting for tea carries with it an air of luxury, Cameron said, dinner menus can be customized to fit whatever an event needs – fancy or not.

“We’re very welcoming,” he said. “We have had to serve dinosaur nuggets at high tea before.”

The clientele is more mixed than one might think.

“When we first opened [in 2007] it was 99 percent women,” Cameron said. “Now it’s 85 percent women. We have a bunch of couples who come in.”

The business was a natural fit for Lynn Davis. The former stay-at-home mom said her parents entertained and she did, too, holding events like ice cream socials. Tea was a way of life.

 “I grew up on sweet iced tea,” she said. “We had it at dinner every night.”

The tea room concept took quite a while to execute. Davis first had to find the right residence that could be converted into a business to give it that homey feel. Then there was a series of renovations that needed to take place.

The business will soon expand its offerings to include drive-up service in the front of the building.

Here, customer service is key. Lynn grabs a fan for a tea drinker outside then moments later talksto one of her regulars, offering a hug and an “I love ya!” as they head out the door.

Customer Connie Clark has been here several times. The senior loves the friendly service and the ambiance.

“It’s just someplace different,” she said. “There are 12 of us here today. We came all the way from Sun City.”

Connie’s friend jumped in to note she views the Tea Cup as a hidden gem.

 “If people can’t get off their backsides [to come here], it is their loss,” she said.

The Tea Cup Tea Room, 1107 Lithia Pinecrest Road, is open 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and closed Sundays and Mondays.