Photo: Carl Stevens/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Chef Patrick Ford and his wife Tara Prescott are trying to keep traditions alive at a century-old tea parlor. They're also looking to expand the Wenham Tea House, which they took over last year.
“It's the oldest operating tea house in America,” Chef Ford said. “There’s high tea, there’s afternoon tea. High tea’s more like a meal, afternoon tea’s more like a snack.”
They have continued to serve tea 3 days a week while running their own restaurant within its walls.
“It's still operating as a tea house,” Ford said. “We do tea service Thursday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons, but we're also a restaurant that does lunch and dinner, as well we operate as Plat Du Jour Bistro at the Wenham Tea House.”
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Ford also explained how the tea house was started back in 1916 by the Wenham Village Improvement Society, and they still own and maintain it to this day.
“Most of the money they raise goes to their organization,” he said. “They do scholarships, they do a summer camp, and they put a lot of money into this building, in the property as well.”
The chef also mentioned how the business has been doing very well in the time that he and his wife took up operating the house, and he hopes to continue to spread awareness of their involvement there.
“I think it’s going great,” Ford said. “We just want to grow from here, a lot of people still kind of don’t know that we’re here, so we want to make sure they do know.”
WBZ NewsRadio's Carl Stevens (@CarlWBZ) reports.