2 SISTERS TEA ROOM
205 West Main Street • Vine Grove, KY 40175
207-877-2393 • 2sisterstearoom.com
Even if you didn’t know the name of this quaint tearoom in Vine Grove, Kentucky, you would immediately recognize that the proprietors, Paula Jaenichen and Amy Pickerell, are sisters. No, they don’t exactly look alike, but they finish each other’s sentences in the way sisters do. And their conversations are filled with laughter.
The siblings grew up in Meade County, southwest of Louisville in central Kentucky, and Amy has remained in the area. Paula’s husband, Chip, is a retired U.S. Navy submarine captain, and his career has taken the couple all around the world. Four years ago, when Chip started thinking about retiring, he began looking for a business to invest in. His sister-in-law had the perfect suggestion—she and Paula should open a tearoom.
The two-story cottage in Vine Grove that houses 2 Sisters Tea Room had previously housed a tearoom, Gracefully Yours, that closed in 2009. Amy had been one of its regular customers. “I used to drop in at least once a week for their “Spot of Tea,” she recalls. “I loved it.” The building had sat empty for four years, but Amy had stayed in touch with the previous owners, so she contacted them. It wasn’t long before Paula, a retired schoolteacher, returned to Vine Grove, and Two Sisters Tea Room was open for business.
Tuesday through Saturday, the siblings can be found in the tearoom’s tiny kitchen, preparing for the day’s customers. Crowds make her uncomfortable, Amy says, and she prefers a behind-the-scenes role. Paula is the outgoing one—she greets customers and shows them
to a table in one of the two dining rooms. “The tearoom seats only 34,” Paula explains. “We can add an extra chair to each table and stretch that to 42.”
Paula and Amy offer a Cream Tea (a pot of tea and a scone) for $5.95 and a Petite Tea that adds fruit, a tea sandwich, and a bite-sized dessert for $12.95. The more substantial Afternoon Tea for $20.95 includes an assortment of tea sandwiches, savories, and desserts. “Everything we can make from scratch, we do,” Amy points out. The Petite Tea and the Afternoon Tea come with a bottomless pot of tea.
