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Business Owners Suited To A Tearoom

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By JOYCE McKENZIE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 21, 2008

TEMPLE TERRACE - On May 1, Betina and Sam Halabe held a "passing of the baton" ceremony.

The Empress Tea Room owners handed over the reins and keys to Kim and Michael Nauman of Carrollwood.

"That's exactly what it felt like," said Kim Nauman, who noted that frequent customers of the restaurant will notice few changes in its decor, menu and ambience. "We basically kept everything in place, but I've also come up with some new, creative ideas of my own I think will add even more flair."
Betina Halabe is delighted to have the Naumans onboard and said she is confident the rapport she established with her guests during the three years she oversaw the tearoom will continue under the leadership of the new proprietors.

"They are very loving and caring people," Halabe said. "We are really like family."

Kim Nauman also is owner of Divine Menus, a catering company that will focus on serving area businesses with 10 or more employees. Menu selections will be similar to those served at the tearoom.

The tearoom offers a buffet breakfast Tuesday through Friday that includes a chef's station with omelets and other hot breakfast selections, scones, pastries and fresh fruit.

The luncheon menu consists of a variety of salads, sandwiches, a daily wrap special, entrees and desserts. Iced and hot teas, flavored lemonades, coffee and wine are available.

Nauman has added a variety of her specially bottled Divine Dressings to the tearoom's gift shop shelves, as well as jars of her crab bisque, a soup she said is a "big seller."

She hopes to host tastings for prospective brides, as well as champagne luncheons featuring fashion shows. Another goal of hers is to have mother-and-daughter teas, complete with speakers who address such topics as morals, ethics and proper etiquette.

"I just love this place, and I want others to enjoy it as much as I do," Nauman said. "It's just a peaceful, easy place to walk into."

A couple of weeks ago, while driving through Temple Terrace, Janie Coleman of Valrico found herself thirsting for a glass of cold tea. By chance, she spotted the Empress Tea Room sign in the Victorian Village center at the northwest corner of Fowler and Gillette avenues.

"Even though I came just for a glass of tea, they treated me like a queen," Coleman said.

So impressed by her first experience, Coleman returned a few days later to treat a friend having a birthday to high tea.

"I'm not a girlie-girl, but it was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon in an elegant, but relaxed, environment. They cater to you like you're royalty," she said. "The music, the decorations, the food, the tea - everything is just wonderful."

When it came to determining where to take her "mommy," University Village resident Betty Hogan, for a surprise Mother's Day celebration, it was a no-brainer.

"Today, I'm honoring the queen in my life who throughout my entire life has supported me," Coleman said.

Donning a pink corsage to match her outfit and the wandering wisteria that wraps around white trellises in the restaurant's garden room, Hogan munched on a variety of treats while sipping on a cup of a special Mother's Day blend of hot tea steeped tableside in a flowered china teapot.

Among the food selections were petite cucumber sandwiches served on multigrain homemade bread, chicken salad-filled croissant sandwiches, English scones and fresh strawberries dipped in dark chocolate and drizzled with white chocolate. All were prepared by chef John Mullett, who served in the same capacity at the tearoom under the Halabes' ownership.

Seated in the adjacent Victorian room, adorned with Old World-inspired wall tapestries and dark walnut furnishings, were visiting California resident Joan Hine, daughters Debbie Wooles of Tampa and Nita Dunlap of Lakeland and granddaughter Katie Dunlap, who had met for lunch.

They selected the tearoom because of its charm and location between Lakeland and Tampa.

"I've really enjoyed it," Hine said. "The decor is so pretty, and it's a special place to spend time together."

Near their table sat three ministers: the Rev. Evan Moore of Tampa, the Rev. Ivan Geary of Temple Terrace and the Rev. John Zonneveld of Sebring.

"The food is good, and we appreciate having a godly, relaxing place to come to," Moore said.

Nauman makes no secret of her strong Christian beliefs. She welcomes prayer groups in the garden room.

"I'm a God-girl, and I did a lot of praying about buying something like this," said Nauman, who met with Betina Halabe and started the sale proceedings the day after reading online the business was for sale.

Nauman said she has found her passion with the tearoom.

"I just welcome everyone to experience the serenity and ambience here," she said. "There is no other tearoom that can compare in the state of Florida."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Empress Tea Room
WHERE: 6810 E. Fowler Ave.

WHEN: Buffet breakfast from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Tuesday through Friday; lunch and high tea from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; high tea only from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Reservations are not required but are preferred, especially for guests with diet restrictions.

INFORMATION: Go to www.empresst.com or call (813) 988-9027

Reporter Joyce McKenzie can be reached at (813) 865-4849 or jmckenzie@tampatrib.com.

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