Oakland Tribune, The (CA) |
| Time for tea in downtown Hayward March 25, 2009 Author: Eric Kurhi The Daily Review Section: My Town Index Terms: Alameda News Local |
| The time for tea is now, says Beneba Thomas, and the place for tea is downtown Hayward — that's where she has converted a Main Street storefront into an idyllic sanctuary from the outside world.
There, small groups sit surrounding golden triple-tier platters of goodies, sipping the "other" hot beverage from delicate gold-trimmed tea cups filled with any of 750 selections. Crystal chandeliers hang above, real flowers sprout from a stone fountain and soft music plays, accentuated by occasional chirps and tweets of unseen feathered friends. "Anytime is tea time at the Golden Tea Garden," Thomas says, smiling. "My idea is to make a beautiful respite area to get away from life's craziness." There are also finger sandwiches and English-style desserts — a sticky toffee pudding is a customer favorite. This is Thomas' third career. She was a litigator with one of the "world's biggest law firms" for years, and more recently was flipping real estate. After the housing bubble burst, she began looking for a new career, and has been fond of tea rooms since she was a child sharing tea time with her grandmother. The Golden Tea Garden opened on Valentine's Day, and immediately caught the fancy of tea aficionados who, until then, had to travel south to Fremont or north to Pleasanton for a high-tea treatment. "We had more than 30 people come in the first day, without advertising or even putting a sign up in the window," Thomas says. Business has been steady since, with customers returning on a weekly basis and some regular customers sometimes staying all day. Last Friday, about a dozen people were slowly sipping in the early afternoon. "I was at my book club, and I heard about the little tea shop and the lovely lady who runs it," said Nancy Harrison, of Castro Valley, who was there with members of her hiking club. "Of course we'll come back, but it's really for special occasions." Not so, said Evita Pruna, who was sitting nearby with three co-workers. "We were here just last week," she said. "We come here to de-stress after work." The Main Street location, across from a beauty college and below the residential rooms of the Green Shutter Hotel, may seem unlikely for such a traditionally highbrow venue as a tea room, but Thomas says that's not the case. "Why not here?" she asks. "A tea room belongs everywhere." She added that the Golden Tea Garden is not "too froufrou — like a doll house" as other tea venues can be. She wants to keep it elegant but not overwhelming — something that will appeal to those looking for a traditional tea time, as well as those curious about tea. "A lot of regular guys come in and become repeat customers," Thomas says. "They will come in and say, 'This really isn't my thing,' and I have to say, 'You have to stop saying that if you're going to keep coming in again and again.'"‰" The tea room is at 22630 Main St., near B Street. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. Sundays. Eric Kurhi covers Hayward. Reach him at 510-293-2473 or ekurhi@bayareanewsgroup.com. (c) 2009 The Oakland Tribune. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc. |