Sip Like Royalty at The Tea Lady’s Elegant English Tearoom in Barberton

Luxury meets you the moment you arrive at the Tea Lady’s new Barberton location. A host attendant walks you into the English tearoom — outfitted with damask wallpaper, drop crystal gold chandeliers and fine bone china with platinum trim. Waitstaff members attend to your every need — preparing your tea, freshening up your hot water and more.

“We’re going to treat you like royalty,” says president Renea Woods-Baylor, who serves tea, prepares food and more for those seated in a dining room and a reservation only 10-person private room. “To me, that’s luxury — when we’re attentive and making sure you’re comfortable.”

Growing up, Woods-Baylor bonded with her sisters over teatime at the kitchen counter. They watched their business owner parents entertain friends and family with elaborate events in their West Akron home in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. With her second husband, an executive chef, she hosted refined Mother’s Day tea parties in their North Canton home for three years before moving into the Faith Place to accommodate larger guest lists. Before her husband died in 2017, Woods-Baylor promised him she would make use of their china collection — including fine bone Noritake china, Royal Albert china, Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade and more.

She delivered when she opened the Tea Lady — the first English tearoom in Akron — in 2019. After surviving setbacks, she moved the business to Barberton this spring. Now taking reservations, the new English tearoom has a “Bridgerton”-themed grand opening set for August.

“I’m used to my mom setting tables so elegantly that I love the essence of feeling like I’m in the presence of elegance,” Woods-Baylor says.

The Tea Lady offers morning, afternoon, high and children’s 7 and older teatimes, as well as event bookings and gluten-free and vegan options.

English afternoon tea (starting at $45 per person) is the most extravagant, requiring finer china and crystal. It features fine hot tea service, fresh fruit parfait, hearty seasonal salad and an English tier service. Enjoy two of Woods-Baylor’s popular cucumber-dill tea sandwiches, as well as two other specialty tea sandwiches, a scones course and a pastries course. Baked goods and pastries are made by local bakers, such as Breads, Parm’s Pounds and the West Side Bakery, which makes petit fours, tea cakes and tea cookies.

Woods-Baylor offers a selection of fine herbal, fruit and black teas, as well as merlot, bourbon, CBD and other specialty teas. (Watch for events such as tipsy tea, with spirits-infused tea, or how to drink tea workshops.)

Visitors from London have told her she’s spot on. She enjoys seeing customers in dresses, gloves, hats and fascinators, embracing the upscale, shared experience.

“It’s a way to relax and fellowship with one another and enjoy each other’s company,” Woods-Baylor says. “It’s a special treat that you want to give for yourself.”

190 Second St. NW, Barberton, ohiotealady.com