WENHAM — The Wenham Village Improvement Society is looking for a new tenant to run its historic tea house.
Emma Roberts, a Wenham resident who has managed the tea house for the past five years, has decided not to renew her lease.
Roberts will finish out the month of December at the tea house. Barbara Locke, president of the Improvement Society, said she hopes to have a new tenant in place by January or February. If not, the tea house will close temporarily in January, until a new tenant can be found.
"We have several interested parties," Locke said. " ... Our hope is for someone that will come along and be able to continue in the tradition of the Wenham Tea House. That's extremely important to us."
Established in 1912, the Wenham Tea House is considered the oldest continuously operating tea house in the United States. During Roberts' tenure, the tea house served breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea and held special events, including children's tea parties.
Locke said the Improvement Society hopes to find a tenant that will continue "in the same vein" and operate a tea house restaurant.
"It has a certain charm and appeal that is unique," she said.
Roberts said she decided to leave the tea house for financial reasons. She estimated she's sunk $130,000 of her own funds into improvements, from carpets to new furniture.
"I've never made any money off of it; it's sort of my volunteer work," Roberts said. "I'm not even concerned about making money, but concerned about losing any more money than I've already lost. Without being able to come up with a game plan on how we could come up with a next step, I'm not sure how I could get there."
The Wenham Village Improvement Society has roughly 300 active members, Locke said. The tea house, at 6 Monument St., is on a 6-acre parcel the society owns. The society runs a summer children's program at the playground they own behind the tea house and gives scholarships to local graduates every year.
There are about six employees at the tea house, Locke said, some of whom have worked there for a long time. Roberts kept many of the existing staff when she took over five years ago, she said.
"I'm glad (Roberts) was there; she did a great job," Locke said. "I also give a lot of credit to the people that work in the tea house."
Roberts was running the tea house when it was awarded the town's first liquor license in 2007, as well as last year, when that license was changed to allow take-home sales of unopened bottles of wine.
After finishing out December at the tea house, Roberts said she will focus on her catering company, Capers. Overall, she says her five years at the Wenham Tea House were a positive experience.
"I love the tea house. I think it's the most important piece of real estate in Wenham," Roberts said. "I wish them all the success. ... If they need volunteers to help at the tea house (in the future), I would always volunteer."
Staff writer Bethany Bray can be reached at bbray@salemnews.com and on Twitter @SalemNewsBB.
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