Remembering the Thacher Tea House

Originally published in the Beechcomber- the publication of the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth

TThe Thacher Tea House was very popular during its hey day, with the streets of Yarmouthport lined with cars and many chauffeurs sitting outside waiting for their passengers. It was well known as far away as Boston.

There were a few summer visitors who came to Yarmouthport year after year, usually staying the entire summer. (Most tourists would stay on the other side of Yarmouth, where there were beaches and a variety of restaurants and shops.) Most of Yarmouthport's summer visitors took all their meals at the Tea House and stayed at the houses on either side of the Tea House and across the street (at what was then known as the Bangs Hallet House, his first house at 165 Old King's Highway).

Thacher Tea House kitchen

The Tea House normally served only lunch and dinner, but opened one dining room in the morning for their daily customers who could be served genteelly while the other two public dining rooms were being swept and polished for the upcoming day. The waitresses wore white blouses and print skirts with small white organdy aprons and the "dreaded" hair nets to keep hair from falling in the food but which did nothing to enhance the looks of the waitresses! (After work many aprons were left on "kind of as a status thing" but the hair nets were quickly peeled off.)

About all of the kitchen help were local school girls from around town, although some did come from farther away, staying in dorm facilities in the loft of the barn across the street. Miss Duntz oversaw the dining room staff, while Miss Russell handled the kitchen.

It was most every girls dream to be a waitress at the Tea House. You had to be at least 14 years old to be hired. Besides the advantage of earning money for the first time, there was also the possibility of a social life. When it came near closing time, the local boys would be waiting outside by the stonewall for the girls to finish work. The next step was to go to Hallet's Drug Store to "divvy" up tips.

Thacher Tea House exterior

Because of the set up of the Tea House, pooling tips was necessary. The three dining rooms, called the Lace Porch, Green Porch, and Thousand Island Porch, were all named after the glass used on these porches. Tables and chairs were all dainty antiques and the service was Royal Dalton. The Lace Porch was reserved for the regular families. The Thousand Island Porch, which had a view of Sandy Neck and Cape Cod Bay, was in the back and used for daily reservations while the Green Porch would handle those who hadn't called early enough or chanced to come without reservations. There were three girls on each porch. The "bread & butter" girl was usually the youngest or trainee and attended the diners when they first came in. She would put ice in the goblets, then water from a lovely matching pitcher. Butter pads were placed on the butter dishes, rolls were served, and a small appetizer of a cheese spread and crackers before the orders were taken. The next girl would take the orders and another girl would pick-up and serve the orders. Service plates were used and doilies wherever appropriate. Finger bowls with a rose petal floating on top was the final touch. There was no liquor ever served in this restaurant, but it didn't seem to interfere with it's popularity as one of the finest dining areas on Cape Cod.

When Miss Duntz and Miss Russell retired about 1946, the restaurant was sold to several other owners who, though they tried, could never quite duplicate the experience or maintain the fine reputation that had been established.