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Tag: Carol Allen

  • Council leases former fire station for Ridgeway retail

    Carol Allen, right, owner of Laura’s Tea Room, announced that she will bring a consignment store to the former fire station in downtown Ridgeway. Her daughter, Kelly Quinn, and grandson, Seamus, who are visiting from Ireland, will be helping with the store opening. | Barbara Ball

    RIDGEWAY – Continuing concerns about how Ridgeway’s new water tower turned out, prompted an executive session at the beginning of the Town Council meeting Thursday evening.

    ‘Contractual Matter regarding Civil Engineering of Columbia (CEC),’ was the stated reason on the agenda for the executive session.

    Following the session, Councilman Rufus Jones made a motion to hire an independent surveyor to measure the height of the town’s new water tower which was constructed by CEC. The tower sits adjacent to Geiger Elementary School.

    “We continue to have concerns about the height of the new tank,” Jones said. “And we want a representative from CEC to be present for the measuring.”

    In a follow up interview with The Voice, Councilman Dan Martin said the measurement is needed to determine whether there is a discrepancy between the height of the town’s new water tower and the old one.

    “If the new tower is shorter than the old tower,” Jones said, “that could adversely affect the water pressure for the town’s customers.”

    The motion passed 4-1 with Councilwoman Angela Harrison voting against.

    Allen Leases Fire Station

    A second discussion in Executive Session resulted in a unanimous vote in public session to accept a request from Ridgeway resident Carol Allen to lease the former fire station at 170 S. Palmer Street, commencing Aug. 8.

    Allen, who owns Laura’s Tea Room down the street in the same block, said she plans to open a consignment shop ‘of sorts,’ but will not have enough room for booth rentals.

    “But we will welcome individual consignments, crafts and handmade items. We also plan to feature an assortment of nice pet items, plus we’ll carry some neat things that we don’t have space for in the Tea Room,” Allen said.

    “I guess I need to get together with my tea gang and decide exactly what we’re going to do over there, but I’m looking forward to having sort of an open air market as we roll those big bay doors up every day,” Allen said.

    Business License Fee Up

    Council voted unanimously to pass a resolution to amend Ridgeway’s Business License Fee schedule by increasing fees 20 percent.

    “The Town has not adjusted the business license fee schedule for cost increases or standard inflationary factors since the fee schedule was originally adopted,” the resolution stated.

    Councilman Dan Martin said the across the board fee increase is necessary to cover some of the increase in costs of providing services in the town.

    Rates are predicated on the class of the business and the income generated. The lowest fee is $48 for $0 to $10,000 in income, plus $1.35 per thousand or fraction thereof over $10,000.

    There are also specific daily license fees for peddlers and a $5 license fee for a yard sale.

    Persons or firms not licensed by the Town of Ridgeway must provide proof of a minimum $2,500 performance bond before they can receive a permit to work in the town.

    Councilman Jones pointed out the difficulty in monitoring the contractors who come to Ridgeway and provide services.

    Mayor Cookendorfer agreed.

    “I try to keep an eye on trucks, etc. in town, and when I approach them, they typically go to Town Hall and secure a business license for Ridgeway,” Martin said.

  • USA Today recommends Laura’s Tea Room for Mother’s Day

    Laura’s Tea Room’s proprietress, Carol Allen, standing, pampers her customers with fussy attention, delectable sweets and never-ending pots of tea. | Barbara Ball

    RIDGEWAY – The May 7 issue of USA Today, on newsstands Monday, featured Carol Allen’s Laura’s Tea Room in Ridgeway as one of ten tea rooms around the country that it considers perfect settings for Mother’s Day celebrations. Tea rooms in Pasadena, CA; New York City; Tampa, Florida and Salt Lake City, were among those included in the article.

    No sooner had the newspaper hit the streets on Monday, than customers and friends began calling and emailing Allen with the news. Allen said she was incredulous.

    “You saw it where?” she asked repeatedly.

    “I was shocked,’ she laughed. “But it’s been one thing after another ever since the story broke,” Allen said.

    “A British couple called saying they were vacationing in Atlanta and would be leaving for Florida that afternoon. They told Allen they had seen the story in USA Today made reservations for High Tea the next day. They arrived about 1:30 p.m. and we had a wonderful visit,” Allen said. “And they enjoyed High Tea.”

    “It’s been crazy ever since the story came out,” Allen said.

    Allen and her now 96-year-old mother, known as Gramma, started the tea room in the spring of 2008 in the former Thomas Company Mercantile Store built in 1911 at the corner of Palmer and Church Streets in downtown Ridgeway.  Laura Thomas was the last member of the Thomas family to run the mercantile before it closed in the mid 1990’s.

    “My mom, my daughter and I would visit tea rooms wherever we saw one,” Allen said.  “I had so many dishes in my house that I had to do something with them.  And I am certainly a tea drinker, so it all fell into place.

    “I was playing around with a number of names for the tea room while we were working to turn the mercantile into a restaurant.  We wanted to maintain the ambiance of this beautiful building.  Locals would stop by frequently and make the same statement over and over again – that Laura Thomas would have been so happy to see it as a tea room.  I finally decided to call it Laura’s Tea Room.”

    According to the article, Laura’s Tea Room offers customers a choice of over 150 tea cups, a large assortment of teas and as a colorful collection of hats in case a customer forgets to bring her own.

    Allen gives credit for the tea room’s success in large part to her staff who she considers extended family. “My staff really cares about their customer’s experience and it shows in everything they do,” Allen said.

    Laura’s Tea Room features high tea in an exquisite setting on the upper floor of the over 100-year-old building. Lunch is served in the downstairs Deli. A first floor gift shop offers eclectic choices related to dinning and many choices for tea. The gift shop has retained the original mercantile cabinetry, which is a walk back in time.