Life's a Gamble Blog

Life's a Gamble Blog
LIfe in the small town of Port Gamble, Washington. Events, businesses, and quirky small town humor through the eyes of photographer and blogger Jerry Cornell

Friday, August 15, 2014

The Problem Solver

About 9 years ago a daughter-in-law saw an ad for a building for sale in Port Gamble, a building which looked very similar to what she thought her mother-in-law had wanted. While the  daughter-in law did not know that buildings in Port Gamble never show up for sale, only rent, still she thought this was the unit the lady had wanted and continued to mention it. As it turned out, it was not the building that was for sale, but rather the business. And there came Janice Kelly's first problem. There would be others in her next 10 years.

Janice Kelley, owner of The Tea Room at Port Gamble



While she wanted a building to start a business in,  the business in the building when she bought it was an “English Tea Room,” and who in their right “American” mind knew what an “English Tea Room” might be. But for Janice not knowing fully what she was getting into was seen by her as more of a challenge than a problem, so she talked her husband into making an offer on the building and they opened in two weeks.




The entire family must have dug deep to be ready, but ready they were. She told her husband it might not be his “cup of tea” (groan) but she was committed to learn it all.

Over the years she and her business have grown the way most people learn - by making  mistakes. She now marvels at what she has become during this learning time, the woman who is now so much more confident and capable than the one who bought the restaurant. And she also marvels at the customers who have helped her along the way. The couple who drops in (at least once a year) who bring her two fine English China teacups to add to her collection, the ones who bring birthdays to celebrate…






Short on qualified help in the beginning, she now has her husband and two sons who both also work in Silverdale at Olive Garden, and several other regular staff.

Several businesses in Port Gamble shared one problem  - not enough room. I asked her about that, knowing that lack of space with nearly every building full is a difficult place to be. I mentioned Quilted Strait which had to rent another building when they needed space to hold classes. Tango Zulu had to find another building in Pioneer Square to meet their needs, and The General Store had to do some major remodeling.





What did Janice do? She looked outside the “clock box”. “The clock box?” You say? “What’s that?” It’s that round faced thing on the wall that tells you what time it is. She quickly found that there was a market for evening customers, filling tables which  before this brain storm had not been used. But Janice brought in new customers, sold more food, and did it without investing a dime in some one else’s building. She also took up catering, another way of generating more business without the expense of more space. More sales, same space, different time.

What problem is she having these days? The same one she can’t crack that arrived about the time she opened. She finds that men are stuck with the attitude that guys who go in “English Tea Shops” are sissies, not quite ready for a beer. But Janice put a good sized hole in the argument when she changed the menu, adding several additional beers and other liquids. Grilling and Chilling she calls it now and she does very well with it, thank you very much. Another problem solved without a major restructure of the business.





I must admit since my first stroll past the Tea Room I assumed I would have a nervous feeling, should I decide to enter the place,  looking over my shoulder to make sure none of my friends would see me, but I think today I just might go make a reservation for two. Kris and I enjoy going to Victoria, so can a Tea Room be much different. But even in Victoria the women far outnumber the men in attendance.

If you are at all in doubt that Janice knows what a Tea Room is and knows how to make visiting one into an enjoyable experience, check out two media presentations:

The Fall Issue of West Sound Home and Garden Magazine  displays The Tea Room as their featured restaurant, and Mike Barnet includes the Room in “Go Here, Try This!”, a video series for BKAT (Kitsap’s local Public Access Channel.)