Finding a location for the tearoom ended up being easier than Kelly anticipated. When the longtime owner of a local gift shop learned about her desire to open the tearoom, the shopkeeper offered to vacate the corner unit of the three her business occupied for decades in one of the most prominent buildings in the city, so that Kelly could have that space. She opened The White Heron there in January 2016. “The tearoom started off with a little tiny lobby and a room in the middle of the unit with three tables and 12 seats,” Kelly recalls. She opted for a simple, spa-like décor of teals and whites, which she felt would be more in keeping with the relaxed atmosphere people expect in Florida.
A few months later, when the gift shop owner decided she was ready to retire, Kelly purchased that business and expanded the tearoom’s footprint into those two units to accommodate 32 seats with 8 tables, space she desperately needed to handle the growing demand for bookings. “When I decided to open a tearoom, they all [the city] thought I was crazy, but now they see what a tearoom can do for a community, and they’re so thankful,” she says. “One thing I love about tea is that people will travel to enjoy it. Over 60 percent of the guests that visit us aren’t even from our city.”
The White Heron Tea & Gifts is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., with afternoon tea served by reservation at noon and 2:00 p.m. When calling to book a teatime, guests talk with Debbie, Kelly’s mom, who handles reservations and works the gift shop cash register. Dawne McDonald, who started as a part-time dishwasher, now manages the tearoom full-time and makes sure everything runs smoothly. “My staff is amazing,” Kelly beams, as she mentions the remaining team members. “That’s what makes a tearoom successful—you can’t just have great food and great tea. You have to have a great group of people that work in there that can answer questions.”
When patrons of The White Heron arrive for afternoon tea, Kelly or Dawne will greet them and show them to their table. “We give you a tea menu, which we’ve tailored to include a couple of green teas, black teas, and caffeine-free herbals,” Kelly says. Each guest chooses an infusion, which is prepared freshly from loose leaf in a small teapot with a tea cozy on it to keep it warm. “I want people to pick the tea they want, and we have a rule that if someone doesn’t like the tea they chose, we’ll change it,” assures Kelly, who believes that sets the tone for the entire experience. The tea menu changes seasonally to complement the food menu, which is also geared to correspond with the time of year, and she says there are certain items that have proven so popular they will always serve them.
“We always have chicken salad in a petit croissant and a cucumber sandwich,” she explains, noting that the savory tier includes four different sandwiches. The scones, one plain and one flavored according to the season, are served with strawberry jam and Devonshire cream. French macarons imported directly from France are a staple on the dessert tier, as are the made-in-house mini lemon cream pies. Other sweet treats, such as cakes, cream puffs, and éclairs, vary from week to week.
“Most people today use teatime not for what it was traditionally, a little snack between lunch and dinner. They’re using it as a meal,” observes Kelly. “You want it to be something that when they leave, they feel good that they were there.” And she hopes that they, too, will fall in love with afternoon tea just like she did, savoring the time for what it can do to bring calm to their body, mind, and soul.
For more information about The White Heron Tea & Gifts, visit thewhiteheronfl.com. To make a reservation for afternoon tea, call 727-203-3504.
