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Tea time is a little vacation at cozy cottage

Two sisters who recognize the importance of a peaceful hour own Davis & Daughters Tea Cottage near downtown Palm Harbor.

By JILL ANN PERRINO
Published February 28, 2005

PALM HARBOR - Sisters Rita O'Neil and Karin Gilley know how important it is to get away, even for an hour or so.

The two once worked together in the home health care business, supervising up to 500 employees. They were so busy that they would often "just take a vacation an hour at a time," O'Neil said.

So after selling the business and taking some time off, they decided to go in a different direction. Still, they liked the idea of giving customers a relaxing escape from their every day stress. In August 2002, they opened Davis & Daughters Tea Cottage near downtown Palm Harbor.

Every detail, from the lace napkin cuffs to the scones and lemon curd, is designed to give visitors a break from their hectic lives and to transport them back to a more tranquil time.

"This is a wonderful place to come relax and get away," said Jeanne Stephenson of Clearwater, who was lunching with friends at the tea room on a weekday afternoon.

O'Neil and Gilley named the business after their mother, Marguerite Davis, who died in 1992. Gilley cooks everything, including the cottage's signature sandwich, a heart-shaped cucumber and dill cutout. The menu changes daily.

To create the quaint tea room atmosphere they desired, O'Neil and Gilley selected a 1920 old Florida house in historic Palm Harbor. They restored the original hardwood floors, brought in numerous family heirlooms and added crystal, silver and bone china.

The restaurant seats 46. Five themed rooms - a Southern Room, French Room, Victorian Room, Garden Room and English Room - each provide guests with unique charm. The Southern Room, in gray and lavender, features old South wallpaper, magnolia table toppers and paintings of antebellum life.

The largest room, the English Room, features lace, flowers, old English pictures and pale yellow walls and is the main party room used for large gatherings.

The cottage offers several tea options, each at a set price. "Cottage Tea," includes an assortment of tea sandwiches and desserts including fresh scones, cottage creme and lemon curd. A "Grand Tea" adds a fresh seasonal side and quiche.

The business offers children's teas, accommodates events ranging from bridal showers to corporate meetings and schedules special events.

A meatless tea is available on request through the Lenten season, and the cottage will mark St. Patrick's Day with a Mad Hatter's tea party.

The sisters didn't set out planning to open the business in Palm Harbor. They wanted a building they could own that would have adequate parking.

"The type of building was really what dictated where we ended up being," O'Neil said. They looked in Dunedin and Safety Harbor before O'Neil noticed a "For Sale" sign on the old home one day when she was bringing her dog Tori to be groomed next door.

Now word of the business has spread enough that people interested in taking a break, if only for a bit, are finding their way to the cottage.

"We have people who drive from the middle of the state to come over here," O'Neil said.

[Last modified February 28, 2005, 01:04:17]