At the Gathering Place, the spotlight is on tea and special events

Story and photos by Dave Zuchowski

Each year, just before Christmas, Cindy McGinnis participated in a family tradition. She, along with her daughters, their mother-in-law, her two sisters and their daughters, got together and had afternoon tea at a tea house in the region.

“One year, we drove all the way to Cranberry,” said McGinnis, a resident of Amwell. “It was quite a hike.”

The following year, she decided to forgo a long trip and hold the tea gathering at her own house. Initially, she thought it might be a lot of work, but she ended up loving it.

What follows next is a kismet-related narrative. She got a phone call while driving her car along Route 40 south of Washington. After pulling into a lot and taking the call, she looked down and saw a sign on the ground that read “For sale.”

Looking up to see what might be for sale, she spotted a gorgeous two-story red brick building. She was so attracted to and inspired by the building that she was determined to buy it and turn it into a tea house.

“When I got home, I told my husband, John, about my plan,” she said. “He immediately said, ‘No way. We just retired, and I don’t want another project.’”

Cindy won out in the end. After the couple purchased the building in 2018, John ended up supervising all the remodeling that needed to be done. In the building’s previous incar- nation, it served as a paint-on-canvas studio, which explained all the paint splattered over the floors. With help from a crew of professionals from Scenery Hill, the original wood plank flooring, some of it oak, was brought back to its glory days. Next came wallpapering, painting, adding a kitchen and bathroom and furnishing the rooms with antiques appropriate to the era when the circa 1816 house was built. McGinnis said she drove all over the Pittsburgh area to find mantels for the fireplaces and scoured auction, yard and estate sales to find appropriate furniture and related appurtenances to decorate the building.

Outside, she removed a small hillock in front of the house to provide parking and added a large deck out back with a commanding view of the countryside.

“In 2019, when everything was ready, I invited the family out for a look and to have tea and later held a big open house,” she said.

Soon, it dawned on her that tea houses can be iffy. She began renting the building for events like birthdays, baby and wedding showers, and even weddings and meetings to add more possibilities to her business venture.

She also continued to serve afternoon teas, with Regional Flavor Catering of Taylorstown providing the finger sandwiches, scones and desserts for the three-tiered tea service.

She provides her own assortment of teas and herbals, both regular and decaf, which she presents to her patrons in attractive wooden boxes.

In April 2019, she was booked solid. The Red Hat Ladies came in for tea, and the Upper Saint Clair Women’s Guild phoned to ask if they could borrow some teacups and teapots for a big event they were having. Word was getting around, and McGinnis was optimistic about the venture.

Then COVID hit.

“When I couldn’t open in 2020, I cried,” she said. “But I made it through, and the next year, things started to get better and better. People were tired of just staying home and were anxious to get out.”

Currently, she’s planning a new addition to her enterprise. Starting every Saturday and Sunday on November 3, the Gathering Place will serve afternoon tea from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Patrons can either walk in or make a reservation.

The teas will start with a homemade soup and a salad, followed by traditional tea finger sandwiches, scones and dessert pastries. McGinnis will offer the teas through the end of January 2024 but will close if she’s booked for a private event.

“After the end of January, I will still have teas for people, but only for parties of 10 or more,” she said.

The price of the tea is $32 per person, and McGinnis insists no one will go away hungry. “And they can stay as long as they’d like,” she added.

Tradition has it that the building started as a wagon wheel repair shop, then became a tavern operated by the Moses Little family, who continued to live in the building for several years.

Now on the Washington County History and Landmarks Foundation register, the building once hosted a greeting committee that assembled there on July 3, 1922, to welcome President Warren Harding and his caravan of 42 people.

Harding was traveling to his home in Marion, Ohio, and his entourage along the National Road included twelve autos escorted by members of the Secret Service and the Pennsylvania State Police on motorcycles.

Through the years, the building also saw use as a residential duplex, an antique store and the aforementioned painton-canvas studio.

Seeing new life as a tea house and event space, McGinnis said that now that everything is underway and going great, her husband is very proud of her, not to mention the building he helped renovate and restore.

The Gathering Place is at 438 E. Route 40 in Washington. For reservations and more information, phone 412-217-2668.