Project Description
Akwaaba Tea Salon & Event Space
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Monique Greenwood
866-466-3855
monique@akwaaba.com
www.akwaaba.com
It’s Finally Teatime!
Get ready to put your pinkies up at Akwaaba Tea Salon & Event Space
Ribbon Cutting & Grand Opening June 2nd, 12pm, 3811 Lancaster Ave.
The much-anticipated Akwaaba Tea Salon & Event Space is now ready to offer elegant—and trending—High Tea for all who visit the charming oasis on the corner of Lancaster Avenue and Baring Street in Philadelphia. Tea lover Monique Greenwood has owned and operated Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast inns on the East Coast for nearly 30 years, and last year she purchased a building down the street from her five-year-old Philadelphia B&B with the goal of offering “90 minutes of pure indulgence.” Says Monique: “The salon is a place where folks can take a breath while taking a sip of soothing tea, and in true high tea fashion, guests will also enjoy decadent sweets and savories served on three-tier trays.”
High Tea has British roots for the elite, but Monique envisions an inclusive experience where egg salad sandwiches are replaced by deviled eggs with a chunk of Southern-fried chicken and macaroons get upstaged by homemade banana pudding and peach cobbler–all this goodness while listening to strains of live jazz played on the salon’s antique piano!
The ribbon cutting and grand opening of the stylish tea salon and private event space is scheduled for Sunday, June 2nd from 12-2pm, and all are invited to celebrate, tour and taste. Anyone making a reservation during the party will receive a special gift to take home.
Akwaaba will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with three seatings by reservation only at 11:00, 1:00 and 3:00. With reasonable prices of $48 for The Baring–A proper pot of loose-leaf tea, homemade scones with preserves and clotted cream, four savories and four sweets–and $56 for The Lancaster (soup and salad added to the Baring offering), Monique is hoping casual customers will visit regularly in addition to those all-dolled-up to celebrate special occasions, like birthdays, promotions, baby and bridal showers, and everything in between. The second f loor of the space, in fact, is dedicated to private affairs of all kinds, where hosts can even bring in their own catered foods and beverages.
The triangular-shaped, historic building was previously a residence until Monique took on the arduous task of having it rezoned and completely renovated for its current purpose. It features much of its original detail, like gleaming, inlaid hardwood floors, contrasted with a contemporary black and white color palette to compliment the nostalgic photos on the walls of folks dressed to the nines. She raised funds for the project on Honeycomb, a crowdfunding platform that allows local residents to invest in small, area businesses, and she received a grant to help build-out the space from the Department of Commerce, City of Philadelphia. “The community support has already been tremendous, and I know the year-long wait for our launch will be well worth it. We’re super excited to open!” _________________________________________________________________________
Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns is a leading hospitality company with B&Bs in Brooklyn, NY, Philadelphia, PA and the Pocono Mountains in PA. The woman-and-minority-owned concern was founded by former Essence Magazine Editor Monique Greenwood in 1995.
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