Mount Kisco is getting a bit more British with the announcement of a new English tearoom.
Leigh and Drew Hodgson, the couple behind the British specialty store The Hamlet and the The Ambleside Pub, which is modeled after the kind of family-friendly bars Drew grew up with in England’s Lake District, will open The Windermere Tea Room & Bakery sometime in the fall.
Their new spot, with a traditional English tea (think tiered plates, scones, finger sandwiches and lots of tea options), is going into to the space formerly occupied by The Getaway Car at 222 E Main St. It will also feature many of The Ambleside’s popular food items such as sausage rolls and pies (i.e. Shepherd’s pie; steak and ale and chicken and mushroom), which will be sold fresh to go.
Since opening The Hamlet in 2021 and The Ambleside in 2024, Leigh said many customers have been asking about an afternoon tea service. But, due to logistics (the kitchen at the pub is small), it wasn’t possible. Opening another place that both satisfies Drew’s entrepreneurial itch, along with his occasional yearning for “home,” made perfect sense. It also meets a demand from the pub’s large ex-pat patronage.
“Drew’s always on the lookout for something new,” said Leigh. “Finding something in Mount Kisco was perfect. Plus, we knew this space would work thanks to its big kitchen and cute patio.”
The name, like The Ambleside before it (named for a village Drew grew up visiting), also has meaning to the family. Windermere is a quaint Lake District town five miles south of Ambleside near Lake Windermere. “Our family dates back centuries in this part of the U.K,” write the couple in an Instagram post, “And we still visit every year.” (The Hamlet also pays homage to a typical English village with its mascot featuring a view of Ambleside, the Lake District town Drew’s grandparents and great-great-grand parents lived there.)
The announcement comes on the heels of other tearoom news: Kathleen’s Tea Room in Peekskill reopens in a new space May 18 (at 982 Main St.) after a roof collapse forced the closure of the space in 2021. And Florrie Kayes Tea Room, which had been in Carmel since 2015, relocated to a larger space in Brewster this past October.
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Jeanne Muchnick covers food and dining. Click here for her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram @jeannemuchnick or via the lohudfood newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester is getting a new British tearoom. Get the details
Reporting by Jeanne Muchnick, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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