Business owner Shirley Clark began acquiring tea sets in 2012 after inheriting her grandmother’s teacup collection, which eventually led to her opening a unique shop as a fun retirement project.
Clark worked at 15 Wing Air Base for 20 years as a contractor. After receiving her grandmother’s collection, Clark began acquiring her own china to help with craft projects. She came across and bought full sets of dishes — filling her house with them — while intending to use only the teacups for her crafts.
“I thought, ‘I should be doing something with these,’ but I wasn’t using them for teacups (to drink from). Then when I didn’t want to break up the sets I bought, I thought, ‘Hmm, let’s rent them out and have tea,’” she said. “I mean, there’s nothing better than a nice cup of tea in a nice teacup. There is just nothing better than that.”
After retiring, Clark bought the building at 35 High Street East in February 2018, and after months of renovations, she opened A Little Prairie Charm Gift Boutique and Tea Room in September 2018. She promised herself that she would continue running the business as long as it was fun.
“It’s been wonderful. Back here (in a back room), we’ve had so many fun events: murder mysteries, psychic medium, … cookie-decorating classes, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, like, you name it,” she remarked.
“At one point, we were open seven days a week and we could seat 32 people. But of course, COVID hit, and we had to do the downsize like everybody else. And we just went (with) the flow for that and that was all good.”
People want elegant-looking dishes and teacups on their tables but don’t want to store or wash them, which is where A Little Prairie Charm came into the picture, Clark said. The business rented out the materials to customers, who then returned the plates and teacups afterward, and the shop washed them.
While the business remained open throughout the pandemic, COVID-19 restrictions prevented Clark from re-opening the tearoom to groups. She planned to re-open the space on Feb. 14 but then received negative news about her health, which forced her to permanently close the tearoom and put the business up for sale.
While Clark’s husband and friend could have managed the business, she didn’t want to place that responsibility on them since she thought it would be unfair. She had hoped someone could take over the shop but is unsure that will happen.
“It was a big decision. We were doing great; we were having fun,” said Clark. “I mean, if you can survive COVID, you can survive anything. … But I think it’s the best decision.”
One thing about the business that excited Clark was all the tea and coffee beans were sourced either in Saskatchewan or Canada. The coffee beans came from Prairie Bean, a distributor located between Outlook and Saskatoon, the tea came from a supplier in Calgary, and the edibles are from across Western Canada.
Since the building is for sale, Clark plans to remain open as long as possible. Once she receives the official results from her health test, she will step away and let her employee run the shop for three days a week. The building would remain open until everything sells or someone purchases the place.
“I loved (operating the business). It’s been fantastic (and I’ve) loved the people,” Clark added. “And I’m sorry I have to sell. I did not want to do this, but you have to take care of yourself and family. And I don’t want to leave that on family to be running it.”
