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October 17, 2005

Tea time travel | A chat with Lisa Norburg, owner of Milliken House.

By Miriam S. Powell
Founded: May 2004
Employees: 11
Startup costs: $26,400
Revenues, year one:$34,000
Anticipated revenues, year two: $45,000
Contact: 283-9691
65 North St., Saco
www.millikenhouse.com

What gave you the idea to create an authentic Victorian tearoom?
We [Norburg and her husband, David] had this idea when we first saw the house. The location is good, it's in the middle of the [Saco] historic district [and] there was virtually nothing else like it in the whole state of Maine.

The Millikens were an up-and-coming young couple, and Captain Milliken was also the paymaster for the York Mill. He was a respected community member. This house was very lovingly built. You can tell by the detailing that this was their dream home. So, the more the renovations went on and I could begin to see it come back more to the era in which it was originally built, the more I could picture people coming through that front door and enjoying the little slice of history.

Why create a tearoom rather than a museum?
Here you get to go into Mrs. Milliken's parlor or the captain's library or the dining room and actually [sit down and live their life for a while]. So many customers have said, "It just feels like 1877 here. It's so peaceful." That's what we're trying to do, bring back a little bit of the slowness of that era by having people partake in a lovely, old ritual that is long-gone: the art of sitting quietly and having tea.

How did you finance the project?
We were lucky enough to make a nice profit on the house we sold when we moved here from Portland, Ore. It took about five-and-a-half years to completely redo the interiors, and we're still working on the outside. It takes a lot of time and patience, when you're working with such a gracious old home. My husband and I have been restoring old homes since 1981, so we knew the approximate time it would take.

What is the tea service like?
[The tables are set with] real silver, china and linens. We try to match the generous portions to what you would've gotten from Grandmama in the 19th century ˆ— our slices of cake are so big, they're served on dinner plates! Our dishware is all 19th century reproductions, and tea is served in a pot, loose-leaved, with a silver strainer. The parlor maids are costumed, and curtsey when they show you to your table and seat or serve you.

Do you have any competition in the area?
There are other tearooms and coffeehouses, but the unique thing here is that we incorporate an historical experience along with the menu.

What's your season like?
We open the second Tuesday in May and run Tuesday through Saturday until Labor Day; then we're open Friday and Saturday nights only until Dec. 10. We'll average 160 people a night on the weekends. Tourists come for a little bit of Saco history, [and] we have many local customers.

How did you establish your menu?
My first business decision was to seek out the [bakers] who really know what they're doing, rather than trying to become the end-all myself. I go to some of the old cookbooks and review old recipes, and then come [to my providers] and say, "Do you think you could make this?"

We do a lot of switching around on the menu. [The addition of soup and bread] has been a real boon. I didn't realize how much it would take off.

Do you offer private parties?
We do baby showers, bridal showers, birthdays, anniversaries, business retreats and office parties. And instead of a rehearsal dinner, we fell into a "rehearsal dessert" sort of thing. If people want more of a full meal, we can offer the soups and breads plus beverage and dessert and it's still only about half what a regular caterer would charge.

Had you ever run a business like this before?
I had never been in the restaurant industryˆ… never so much as waited a table. But we have a really good time here. We're a very tight group. I believe that if you can't have fun and joy in your heart when you go to work, what's the point?

New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to sdonahue@mainebiz.biz.

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