Staff Bios

Biography for Amy Lawrence

The idea of a tea room came to me in the summer of 2002. Previously I had been a special education teacher for Placer County teaching autistic students in the STEPS program. I have a Master’s Degree in Special Education and taught for 11 years. I took a 2 year break to be home with my own children. In August of 2002 while having tea with my mother, I told her, “This is what I want to do now! I want my own tea room.” I love to cook and have always enjoyed catering for special parties. In November of 2002, I went to Magnolia and Ivy’s Tea Conference and also became a certified tea consultant through Irene’s Teas. It all began from there. I flew to Missouri where my parents retired and bought all the antiques for the tea room. We drove a 26 foot U-Haul truck back to Newcastle. In March of 2003 the renovations began. With the help of dedicated family and friends, we finally opened on August 27, 2003.

In 2006, we won the Reader’s Choice Award for the Best Small City Tea Room in the U.S. In April of 2007 we won KCRA’s A List for our category. This August we will celebrate our 5th year anniversary.

Starting a business has been a tremendous learning process for me from every aspect including dealing with contractors, vendors, attorneys, and government agencies. I feel I have worn every hat imaginable. In the beginning, I cooked all the food, served all the customers, washed the dishes and mopped the floor. Now I am proud to say I have a staff of 13. I have self-published 4 cookbooks with our wonderful recipes. My business has grown tremendously. I am now able to step away and promote my business through networking events. I have a wonderful staff who treat my business as their own.

Staff bios coming soon…