Tecumseh — Tecumseh has the best downtown in Lenawee County, because it is alive. One particular establishment in the downtown strip exemplifies this best.
The British Tea Garden is part tea shop, part restaurant. The walls are littered with knick knacks that remind one of the glory days of the British Empire, Churchill, London buses, Elizabeth II, and obviously everything tea.
They serve Yorkshire, Twinings, and PG Tips, and I was surprised to find Barry’s, one of Ireland’s standard tea brands. Behind the counter is an assortment of loose leaf teas.
For lunch they serve traditional dishes like cottage pie, tea sandwiches, beef pasties, and scones. You can choose a wide selection of the loose leaf teas that they brew right there. Everything in the experience is brimming with well-crafted hospitality.
You could expect such a place in Ann Arbor, Holland, or Grand Rapids—towns that value authentic shopping and dining experiences—but instead, this tea shop is in the middle of Lenawee County, standard Southeast Michigan farm country.
But Tecumseh’s downtown defies the stereotype of small farm towns. A post office and sports bar are not enough. The town has an old bank turned into a chocolate store and ice cream shop. It has a cheese and wine shop and a restaurant in an old train station. The residents have high expectations for their leisure.
But still, why a British tea shop?
Twin sisters, Gemma Riddle and Alice Williams, own and operate The British Tea Garden. They were born in London and raised in Oxfordshire. Their mother is from Tecumseh and moved to England, where she married their father.
When the couple divorced, the twins moved back to Southeast Michigan with their mother.
But there’s a twist. Some may think these twins came back with a dream to bring their culture to the states, with an ambition to transform a drab old storefront into a magical time capsule for the people of Michigan to enjoy. Nope.
The British Tea Garden already existed when Alice and Gemma came to Michigan. Rochelle Bird, an American, opened the storefront in 1998. It used to be an antique shop. That is until Bird received some gifts from an Englishman’s shop next door.
The man had British imports in his shop that he gave to Mrs. Bird as he was beginning to close his business, and The British Tea Garden was born. The new imports were added to the antiques, and a dining area was added in the back to make a well-rounded nostalgic experience.
When you walk in today, the store’s antique shop roots are felt. The place feels established. Firmly rooted. Safe.
Alice said she began working full time at the shop in 2003. In 2017, Bird wanted to step away, and the twins decided to take over in 2018. Though Alice and Gemma are British, they didn’t change much to Mrs. Bird’s store.
I’ve been to the Tea Garden several times. It is always busy. When I asked Alice about this, she said people travel as far as Indiana to come to their shop.
“We are the only shop of this kind in the area,” she said. “Many people drive an hour. They come from Jackson, Monroe, Toledo, Sylvania. People from Tecumseh are less common.”
I told her I am a frequent visitor of Irish pubs and always noticed such places draw in a crowd. I asked if her tea shop’s Britishness had anything to do with its success. She said that people did like the cultural aspect, but another factor attracted more praise.
“People frequently comment on our serving drinks in glassware and china,” she said. “People seem to want something more than plastic cups and straws at an American diner. They are hungry for an affordable lunch that is elevated.”
Alice said people in the U.K. don’t go to tea houses. They simply drink tea at home. If they do go to tea houses, it is like us going to American coffee shops. It is an everyday, mundane experience.
The British Tea Garden knows how to sell the trappings of British culture to Americans full of nostalgia. And it would, because an American founded it. Bird knew what would thrive because she made the shop she would want to go to if she was a customer as an American.
Like many states, Michigan is full of so-called Irish pubs, and while some of them have traditional food and decoration, most of them feel cheap. They are sports bars decorated in neon shamrocks, Irish flags, and football jerseys and happen to serve Guinness alongside pizzas and burgers.
It is clear people are hungry for a cultural identity if they’re willing to choose a place called “O’Connor’s” over “Jed’s.” Being American isn’t enough.
We’ve only been around for 250 years, and since the Anglo-Saxon population stopped having kids, immigration has been the lifeblood of our future. Irish, Polish, Hungarians, Chinese, and many more have mixed into the Anglo culture and traditions. But eventually people intermarried. The cultures began to fade.
In a sense, the melting pot is what makes America. Our lack of identity is our brand.
Places like The British Tea Garden are shadows of those past traditions tied to a people with a common language, a common religion, and a common land.
It’s something we seem to be losing, even in Michigan. But remember, the American colonies were once part of the British identity. The separation from that empire left us in a vulnerable position.
People from India, South America, Africa, and at one time, Michigan, all comprised the vast cultural make up of the British Empire. In a way, Britain was a melting pot then just like America is today. And maybe the empire never fell. Maybe the baton passed to the U.S.
Because Tecumseh’s British tea shop is so rare for the Great Lakes region, most of its customers come from out of town. If people are willing to drive over an hour, maybe it reveals an insecurity within all of us.
Do we need to cling to the outer shells of a former culture—the flags, the food, and the tea—in order to feel safe in modernity?
But as Alice and Gemma said, people also love that they get something real at The British Tea Garden when so many modern restaurants cut corners and forget the importance of developing atmosphere. People want authenticity.
So go head down US-12 and get a pot of tea. As you sit in a booth, look around at the decorations. Feel the confidence of the place. It’s seldom you’ll find such a breath of fresh air.
Noah Wing is a contributing writer for Michigan Enjoyer. You can subscribe to his newsletter at noahwing.substack.com.
