Published: June 28, 2008 09:34 pm         

A Bit Of Britain Tea Room goes up for sale

Owner already has one offer, doesn’t expect restaurant to close

TERRE HAUTE — A recent ad in the Tribune-Star classifieds had some customers of a downtown business concerned.

A Bit Of Britain Tea Room, at 10 N. Sixth St. in Terre Haute, is for sale. An auction has been scheduled for July 10 at the tea room, but a buyer may purchase the business before that date.

Kathy Sturgeon, current owner, says she already has received one offer and she does not anticipate a closing of the restaurant.

“We’ve had dozens and dozens of phone calls asking if we were still open, and of course wanting to know the reason” for the sale, Sturgeon said.

Sturgeon said business has been “awesome” at A Bit of Britain, which relocated to the downtown area in September 2007 from a strip mall in Riley. In fact, the success of the tea room is part of the reason Sturgeon said she must sell it.

“It’s just mainly the time factor for me right now,” she said.

With a son-in-law serving overseas as a helicopter pilot for the Marines, a branch of military service he’ll be in for the next five years, and Sturgeon’s daughter left in North Carolina to care for the couple’s children, the family wants to have more flexibility to travel and help with their grandchildren, Sturgeon said.

In addition, Sturgeon and her husband run a large farming operation near Riley.

“As time went on,” Sturgeon said Thursday during an interview at the restaurant, “we were envisioning more and more, besides just lunch, the high teas, Saturday events, almost every Saturday was booked for weeks and weeks.”

She added, “We were working seven days a week, so I decided we needed Mondays off, and even then you were working here, of course, or grocery shopping.”

“As far as the business right now, the business has been absolutely great,” Sturgeon said, looking around the floral decor of the tea room. “We’ve had days when we’ve had to turn people away.”

The restaurant offers a menu of soups, quiches, salads, sandwiches, specialty entrees and homemade desserts, as well as a selection of more than 20 hot teas. It seats 45, and is available for private teas, showers, group dinners and brunches. Recently, Sturgeon began offering Sunday brunch, which “has been an absolute hit, it has been terrific,” she said.

Although no final agreement has been reached, Sturgeon said there is an offer on the business, and “the person intending to buy is going to keep it the same, same cook, same staff,” she said.

In recent months, Sturgeon said, customers had begun to request evening meals and for the restaurant to be open in the evenings before and after symphony concerts.

“There is great potential,” she said. “If you’re a person who likes to entertain, this is a perfect place.”

“When people walk in, they just, they make comments like, ‘I can’t believe this is in Terre Haute,’ and ‘I can’t believe how beautiful it is.’”

The building was completely renovated inside after the last business there, a hookah bar, closed last year.

Sturgeon said once her son-in-law returns from his tour of duty overseas, she hopes to get back into some sort of business, and hinted that she may consider something in agritourism.

“Whatever I do, there will be a restaurant!” she said.

For more information, or for reservations, call (812) 234-5832.

Deb Kelly can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.kelly@tribstar.com.