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…