There was a time when women could not go out for lunch with female friends. Everywhere she went she needed to have a male escort. But by the early 1900s single women began to look for some sort of career other than teaching, nursing, or secretarial work. Widows, wives wanting to supplement the family income, teachers looking for work during the summer break turned their living room, an old abandoned barn, or even the lovely yard into a delightful tea space.
Imagine after a Sunday afternoon spin in the new little roadster, she and her friends stop at a home with living room converted into a small dining room with two or three tables set for a special meal. Each looks at the neatly hand-lettered little menu with such delights as creamed chicken on toast or nut and jelly sandwich. Maybe a pear and ginger salad. Iced tea or iced coffee, lemonade or grape juice quenched the thirst from the dusty road.
The tea room idea spread across the pond. British and American women were accustomed to feeding people and presiding as hostesses. Except this time, it came with pay. But what spurred on the interest? Simply stated, women had no place to dine out alone or with other females. Women felt comfortable in tea rooms, the fare was much fresher and lighter. Leave the restaurants with heavy meat and potatoes and alcohol to the men.
The temperance movement was a boost for tea rooms. They didn’t rely on alcohol to pay their bills. In fact, in some towns the tea rooms became known as T-rooms, T for Temperance Rooms. They joined soda fountains and cafeterias in a new genre of places to eat but not drink. This was especially strong in the U.K.
Foods served at tea rooms were often cooked at the owner’s home. Water was brought in from the home, also. Yet the labor was not a deterrent, the owner enjoyed cooking for guests, and everyone loved the camaraderie they shared. Haven’t we come a long way?