PORT TOWNSEND – Ever since Marilyn Niebauer bought Twigs, a British import shop, she has been asked the same question.
“People were constantly asking if we had a tea room in Port Townsend,” she said.
Now, with the shop moving into a larger space, she doesn’t have to say no.
On Dec. 20, she opened Dame Agatha Twig’s Victorian Tea Room, where she serves lunch and high tea – complete with crumpets and cream cake.
“I come in every morning and bake,” Niebauer said.
“Everything is made fresh every day.”
Niebauer, who is English, bought the shop three years ago from Jackie Nichols, who started Twigs in 1992 in a small building at Point Hudson.
When the property was sold to the Northwest Maritime Center, Niebauer bought the business and moved it into the Victorian Mall, facing Tyler Street.
This fall, a waterfront space at the other end of Tyler Street became available.
When Niebauer saw the amount of space and windows overlooking the bay, she knew she could realize her vision of opening a tea room.
“All I could see were the tables,” she said.
“I’ve wanted to do this every since I came to Port Townsend 18 years ago.”
Twigs moved into its new home on Dec. 1, and the tea room on the 20th.