WICHITA, Kansas, April 25, 2008 – One Wichita tea room offers an experience you can’t have at home, offering tea with an old-fashioned touch.

When Onalea Gerner Crile started looking for a business buy, restaurants weren’t on her list. That was until she visited Riverside Cup of Tea.

“Then I met the owner and it just fit like a glove,” she said.

The tea room first opened in 1997, three owners ago. Onalea is in her third year of ownership and is still working to turn a profit.

She now serves breakfast and has a full lunch, but afternoon tea accompanied by fruit courses, savories and decadent desserts is what she’s known for.

“Enjoying an afternoon or high tea is a ritual,” Onalea said. “The foods that are served, the way the tea is steeped and poured, and also the lost art of good etiquette. For example, I learned that it's not proper to stick out your little finger when you're drinking tea. That's from when cups didn't have handles on them and it was a balancing technique.”

Onalea wants to spread the work about good etiquette.

“We're not teaching it to our next generation, and even my generation has not learned as much as we could have,” Onalea said. “Afternoon tea is one of the goals we have to cater to in the business community.”

The location of Riverside Cup of Tea is quaint, but it’s a destination -- not a pass-by whim.

To capture more traffic, Onalea wants to open up somewhere on the east-side and possibly keep the Riverside location.

Her client list continues to grow, but is still mostly made up of women.

“Men always kind of panic at the door when they see the pink room,” she laughs.

The tea is exceptional and the food is all made from scratch. It’s all the more reason to visit. However, taking a break from a hectic day and spending it in a tranquil place is probably the best reason stop in.