Petticoats and Petit Fours
It’s High Tea Time in Salem

Written by Mark Hurley
Photography by Doug Miller

It is hard to recall the days when going out to dinner didn’t involve cell phones, blaring music, televisions, and fast food. When I was a child many moons ago, dinner meant dressing nicely, minding your manners, and actually being able  to enjoy a conversation with those at your table.

Diners seeking the nostalgia of days past will find their grail at Petticoats and Petit Fours Tea House on Main Street in Salem. Offering an old world dining and tea experience, a trip to Petticoats is a wistful escape to Victorian England—worlds away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Petticoats is a venture that owner Leslie Long has been dreaming about since she was eight years old, when she regularly hosted tea parties for her sisters. Long, who is now married and has three girls, loved serving and entertaining people with tea. With her own daughters, she’s been sharing the joy of tea parties “since they could hold a cup.”

Three years ago, Long partnered with area libraries for American Girl Tea Parties, serving tea and reading stories to children on a weekly basis. This was an opportunity where mothers and daughters could spend quality time together, Long remembers. In her view, hosting tea parties provides numerous benefits—in particular, “they make you remember what your mother taught you about manners.” And Long explains that as Americans become more health conscious, tea’s popularity is resurging.

After the success and popularity of Long’s library tea parties, the entrepreneur opened a small teahouse at the Lamplighter Mall. According to Long, it took “a lot of prayer and thought” to settle on “Petticoats and Petit Fours” as a name. She was inspired by the book Happy Birthday Samantha, which she read to the children at the library; one of her favorite chapters is entitled “Petticoats and Petit Fours.”  

After a year, Long decided to move her business to Salem. “My dream was to have a house in Salem,” explains the innovative Long. It was in December 2005 when she bought an old Victorian House at 311 West Main Street in Salem, once owned by the family of Randy Smith, a former Salem city manager. For Long, it was not easy to transform the residential building into one suitable for commercial purposes—for one, there was initial resistance by neighbors who were concerned that a restaurant might disturb their quiet surroundings. But Long worked hard with the Salem City Council to secure her commercial license—and since opening her business, she says, the neighbors have been very supportive.

As you pull up to Petticoats and Petit Fours, you immediately marvel at the elegance of this old Victorian home. A truly Southern experience, the house features a grand front porch with outside tables—perfect for sipping tea and watching the cars meander up and down West Main. 

As you stroll through the front door, you immediately enter into a quaint and relaxing atmosphere. Classical music is played throughout the restaurant, and the friendly staff wears colonial costumes. Long has evidently focused her attention on all of the complex details required for such an enterprise. Each room has a different name such as the “Lady Ann Room” and the “Lady Evelyn Room,” and old black and white photos (some of Long’s family) are exhibited throughout. Lace curtains accent the wide windows. The tables are decorated with fine tablecloths and china. Long believes that “tea time is enjoyed among friends and when you bring friends to your home you use your best china.”

The food at Petticoats varies monthly and is 100% homemade. Lunch fare includes soups, sandwiches, and salads. Some of the patrons’ favorite soups are Hampton Crab Soup, Tomato Florentine, Potato Leak Pottage, and the Chicken Wild Rice Soup.

Petticoats began serving dinner recently on Fridays and Saturdays. Once again, everything is prepared from scratch and choices alternate. Some tasty items are Corned Beef Brisket, Cornish Game Hen, and Pot Pie baked in a bread bowl.

Apart from its savory lunches and dinner, you should also come for the tea. To provide the best tea for her customers, Long orders her wares specially from Ohio and Connecticut. The teahouse offers a “Full Victorian” special between 11:30 am and 4 pm, which includes bottomless tea, a choice of savory quiche or pot pie, assorted sandwiches, two fresh baked scones, and seasonal fresh fruit for $18.95. Long bakes her own scones, which are the sweet and very soft English variety.

Petticoats and Petit Fours provides a simultaneously splendid and time-honored experience for those seeking good food, service, and a sip of the good life. As Long notes, “it’s a full tea experience without going to England.”

Petticoats and Petit Fours is open Tuesday through Saturday 11 am to 4:30 pm. Dinner is served between 6 pm and 9 pm Friday and Saturday. The teahouse is available for children’s tea parties, weddings, and birthday celebrations. Call 540.389.2832 to find out about monthly themed high teas and reservations.

 

Posted: January 1st, 2007 under Taste of the City.
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~Mark Hurley’s passion for food was sparked early in life. Born in Mexico City, he grew up with authentic Mexican cuisine and after moving to New Jersey, was privy to some of the finest restaurants in and around New York City. Mark is a Roanoke College graduate who began his fifteen-year restaurant career working and managing at Corned Beef & Co. He later opened and ran the popular neighborhood restaurant, Hurley’s Restaurant, on Grandin Road between 1994-2000. Mark resides in Roanoke with his wife Joan. He can be contacted in care of City Magazine at 540.345.6300 or contact@citymagazineonline.com.