Afternoon Tea Room Opens Friday In Downtown Tinley

TINLEY PARK, IL — Tea, anyone?

A new spot for old-fashioned afternoon tea is opening on Oak Park Avenue in downtown Tinley Park on Friday, Jan. 10. The Pekoe & Bean Tea Room & Coffee Bar at 17028 Oak Park Ave. is the result of two years of planning by owner Audrey Maher.

"(Tea) is something I've always loved and something the area lacks in," Maher said. "This is something different. There's nothing like this around here."

Pekoe & Bean is primarily a tea room, but will also have a walk-up coffee bar where customers can have their pick of a number of different caffeinated and decaffeinated beverages.

The "tea" part, Maher said, will be a full sit-down service with several a la carte items on the menu.

"It's a great menu with great food and we have a great staff too," she said.

Maher said opening a business like this has been in her head for two years, and for the last six months has been looking for the perfect location. That, she said, has been found in downtown Tinley Park.

"I've always liked the Tinley area, especially the downtown," she said. "There's a lot of charm, a lot of history and I love the attention that is given to small businesses."

The specific space Maher chose has "the right amount of square footage" for what she had envisioned.

"It was the right fit," she said.

Pekoe & Bean will be open from Tuesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"It has been a long process, but I am very excited," Maher said. "We are totally ready and super stoked."