da Capo teas & eatery: press room

The da Capo staff took a getaway trip in January to Oklahoma City. They visited A Spot for Tea, a successful tearoom owned and operated by Tammy Seibert (front left).

Roadtrip! A tearoom staff journey

Laughter rang through the cold afternoon air as our group of women bounded into the minivan. Leaving aprons behind, the female staff of da Capo teas and eatery crossed the Missouri/Kansas border and headed south for an overnight getaway. The road pointed toward A Spot for Tea in Oklahoma City, where we knew kindred spirits and a successful tearoom would be inspirational, possibly lending insight for our own tearoom experience.

“When we looked for a unique Christmas present for our gals, I immediately thought of this wonderful tearoom I had visited two years ago,” says Bunnie Foster, co-owner of da Capo teas and eatery which opened in June 2006.

After six road hours our travel-weary troupe dropped at a local Oklahoma City hotel, just blocks from A Spot for Tea.

“The long drive helped us get to know each other – our personalities – outside of our work environment,” commented da Capo employee Emily Koenegstein.

Morning brought fresh snow and a fresh anticipation for what we might learn and observe. Our highest expectations, however, barely prepared us for what we encountered once we entered A Spot for Tea.

“When I first walked in, it reminded me of my great-grandmother’s house,” said Catherine Corcoran of da Capo. “It had a feeling of genteel comfort from a long-ago era.”

This spacious, beautiful facility embodied a fully feminine and clearly special location for women to gather. Yet the decorations only hinted at the inviting, friendly welcome we received from the tearoom’s owner and hostess, Tammy Seibert. Her cheerful and personal presence made our group, and plainly other guests as well, feel genuinely valued and relaxed.

We did our homework well, closely observing this working model of success. Tammy graciously answered all our questions, freely sharing lessons she had learned and allowing us a behind-the-scenes view of the multi-faceted mechanics supporting her business. It was encouraging … and challenging.

The experience brought tears to the eyes of Kathy Walker, co-owner of da Capo. “As Tammy shared about the issues and challenges her business had overcome, I felt gratified to know we’re on the right track. Like Tammy, with God’s help we can do this.”

Our heads and hearts were full on the return trip to Missouri. Full of unique memories, new relationships, and stimulating ideas. We had found our inspiration.

By Amber Boeker, da Capo teas and eatery employee.

Cathy Walker and Bunnie Foster, owners of da Capo

da Capo: from the top

By Jeanette Browning
Assistant Editor

As the name implies, the owners of daCapo Teas and Eatery in Platte City are taking the concept of the tea room from the top."

Owners Bunnie Foster and Kathy Walker have been pleased with the community's response to their business, which opened on Main Street in June.

"We've been very blessed," Foster said. "We're excited about the response we've been getting from the town, and we're getting the word out -- we've had groups in from Lathrop, and even Blue Springs, so we're drawing from out south."

The restaurant is a unique blend of lunch offerings, teas, coffees and ice cream and hosts evening high teas for groups by reservation. It is one of the few Kansas City area restaurants to offer bubble teas, which are specialty flavored teas made unique by the addition of tapioca bead "bubbles." A retail store with more than 60 varieties of gourmet teas and tea accessories is also part of the mix.

And it's a mix that's working out very well, according to Foster. daCapo is the women's first business venture together, though they have been friends since meeting at a Kansas City, Kan. church as children. Foster, who lives in rural Platte County, became interested in teas while working on a tea ministry for her church. While hosting and teaching about teas, her interest grew into a tea-by-reservation and catering business. Walker, of Kansas City, who had worked for ATT for 20 years, said she saw the writing on the wall as that company continually downsized. When her time with ATT ended in 2004, Walker and Foster decided the time was right to go into business for themselves.

"We spent a year really developing the plan, building the Web site and creating an online business," Foster said.

Initially, they pursued a North Kansas City location, but when that building was leased Foster spent a day driving the small towns in Kansas and the Northland.

"I remembered the beautiful woodwork in this building," she said of the Platte City location, which has housed many restaurants, most recently Pirates Cove. They leased the building in February and took their time revamping the interior.

"We wanted people to know when they walked in that this was really something different," Foster said. The interior, filled with dark woodwork, is carefully decorated to offer a modernized take on the tea room.

While the owners are happy to grow the luncheon niche the restaurant has carved, they are looking to the future. daCapo may soon offer breakfasts, and will soon shift to an autumn menu. They also plan to stay open after home football games to offer Pirates fans a gathering place to get a warm drink. They are also serious about community involvement and the revitalization of Main Street.

During the Dec. 2 Platte City Candlelight Homes Tour, daCapo will offer an authentic Victorian tea. The restaurant also participated in the recent End-of-the-Trail Rally with extended hours and features a gallery of photographs from Main Street photographer Lura Landis. In the future they hope to host high school music nights, feature the art of other local artists and students and pursue poetry nights and other themed events.

"We're just looking to create a place where people can come relax and enjoy," Foster said. One of the few WiFi hotspots in the city, they encourage their patrons to return and linger. "Sometimes, people stay for hours and you can really tell there are heart-to-hearts going on. It's nice to offer a place for that."

Story and photo courtesy of The Platte County Citizen.