HOLLADAY, Utah — Sometimes the best stories start with a recommendation from a viewer. In this case, it was Trudy from St. George telling us about her grandparent's old home that had been converted into a place families and friends can go for sweets and tea parties.
That’s how we found Auntie Rae’s Sweets and Tea Parties in Holladay, a cozy tea-party experience tucked inside an old home with a history of its own.
Owner Raelynn Potts says she wanted the space to feel warm and inviting.
“I tell people we are not the fancy tea shop; we are the warm and cozy tea shop,” Potts said.
Guests can enjoy tea parties featuring fresh, house-made favorites including English scones, cucumber sandwiches and other traditional tea-party treats.
Potts says the experience is about more than what’s on the table. Tea parties give people a chance to slow down and connect with the people around them.
“It’s served in courses, so you’re supposed to eat your course, sip your tea,” she said.
Part of the warm and cozy feeling guests experience is from the home itself — which Potts knew at first sight was the perfect place for her business.
“It feels like you’re coming to your favorite aunt’s house to have a treat or tea party,” she said.
But before the home welcomed tea-party guests, it was home to generations of the Howard family.
"I have memories of when I was a little girl coming here," said Kathleen McFarlane, a member of the Howard family. "Seeing the fireplace that grandpa built when he remodeled the house, remembering the grand piano that was in this room, and playing on the swing that was on the great big tree that was outside here."
Kathleen McFarlane’s mother, grandfather, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother all lived in or owned the home.
“It’s been the anchor. It’s been the place where families gathered and worked together,” McFarlane said.
Her family eventually sold the home, but McFarlane says Auntie Rae’s feels like a natural fit for the space.
The family has even continued making memories there. McFarlane has brought her grandchildren to the home for tea, and she and several of her cousins gathered at Auntie Rae’s for a tea party on FOX 13’s Good Day Utah.
"If it were just an old house sitting here, they wouldn't get to come in and see it and we've been able to take them upstairs and see where their grandmother's room was and walk around," she said.
Now, a house that once served as an anchor for one family is once again a place where people gather around the table — this time over tea, treats and new memories.
If you would like to book a time to have your own tea party at Auntie Rae's, they take reservations over the phone at 801-679-3925.