Susan Reeks

More than a few people in this community can measure their family milestones by the cups of tea they’ve enjoyed at the Glenwood Village and Tearoom. Sadly, owner Sharon McCullar has announced her retirement and plans to close the tearoom sometime after Christmas in early 2016.

For 28 years now, every visit to the Glenwood Tearoom has been a feast for the senses, and that is still true for this one last holiday season. Classical music floats unobtrusively in the background while the pleasant smells of tea and treats baking in the kitchen mingle with fragrance scents in the shopping area. Racks of clothing, accessories and jewelry are artfully arranged and ready to find their way to some lucky recipients during the holidays.

“I added clothing last October, and it was so successful that I increased my inventory,” McCullar said. “We stock a lot of leggings and tunic tops and scarves and accessories, so it has given women the opportunity to come and build a whole look for themselves or for their daughters. That’s going to be our focus at Christmastime.”

Back in the 1980s, McCullar was part of a female revolution of sorts when women began to recreate themselves in earnest in arenas that traditionally belonged to men. “I spent my younger years in the military,” she said. “I did four years in the Air Force, and I used to say that was the hardest thing I’d ever accomplished, but that just doesn’t hold true anymore. Surviving in business for 28 years has really been the most difficult.”

After she left the Air Force, McCullar went to college, married and moved to Shreveport. “My former husband was the pharmacist here,” she said. “At the time (1988), I was working for Boots Pharmaceuticals in training and human resources and just decided I didn’t want to be corporate for the rest of my life. I was willing to take a risk, and I had a space. All I had to do was re-create an existing business and give it a focus.”

A tearoom was her first choice. “I have fond memories of having tea with my paternal great grandmother Stella,” McCullar said. “She was French-Canadian so that was a big part of her life. Coming home after school and seeing her pull those trays of cookies out of the oven … oh, my goodness, with a cup of tea? There’s nothing better.”

“It’s no different sitting here with a cup of tea than having dinner with the family at the dinner table each evening.”

The appeal of a tearoom began with those memories, but it gained momentum at the thought of just playing in the kitchen with some amazing old recipes. “I was always in love with the Victorian era, so the first thing I did was invest in some Victorian era cookbooks,” she said. “I started learning the history of Queen Victoria, who actually brought the custom of taking tea into our daily lives, our daily rituals. To this day, a lot of the recipes that we still serve came from Charles Francatelli, who was chief cook to Queen Victoria during the early part of her reign.”

McCullar’s recipe for business resulted in a hard-won success, both professionally and personally. “I would love for my guests to know and understand how much I’ve enjoyed witnessing their lives, whether it’s been through babies being born or through new marriages,” she said. “I have a group that comes regularly to remember the loss of their sisters. There are less of them at the table than there used to be, but they come back every year.”

McCullar said the reason people keep coming back is because of the quiet ritual of it all and the love that they feel when they enter the space. “Whether it’s a mom who just dropped her kid off to go to college for the first time and she’s empty-nesting and devastated,” she explained, “or someone who is going through cancer treatments. It’s always written on their faces, and that’s when I try my best to be fully present for them.”

That time at the table is as important at home as it is in the tearoom, McCullar said. “Technology has been wonderful for us, but rather than having Facebook relationships, we need authentic relationships where we look at each other face-to-face. Whether it’s loving someone or trying to dissect a problem with them. It’s no different sitting here with a cup of tea than having dinner with the family at the dinner table each evening. I think those are important rituals for us to cling to as our families pull away from each other.”

McCullar’s one regret was not finding a young person to mentor and take over the business. “I’ve incubated a lot of small businesses in this space over the last 28 years, a lot of prominent businesses who got their starts here,” she said. “I loved that. But it just didn’t play out. The bottom line is that I trust my God and maybe I am just not intended to offer that up. It’s still for sale, and I’m still fielding calls, but for most people, it’s a curiosity, not something they want to move their life around.”

There is still time, however, for tea in the tearoom. “It’s all about the tea,” McCullar said, smiling. “We have our favorite teas ready for the holidays: Snowflake, which is toasted almond coconut, and Hearthside Toddy, which is kind of Christmas in a cup with cinnamon, clove, brandy and vanilla. And then I also have a Spiced Caramel Apple. So people can look forward to having their last cup of tea in the Glenwood Tearoom.

To learn more, go to the Glenwood Tearoom’s Facebook page.