Our Town Standard Freeholder

halfway between Toronto & Quebec City, B&B accommodations Close to morrisburg & 5 minutes from Hwy 401,
Along the St Lawrence Corridor within the Great waterway's Upper Canada region, Fine Dining, B&B Accommodations

Cornwall Standard Freeholder September 1994
by Roxanne Ouellette

    Calling all tea drinkers: Have your pinkies poised and ready. There's a new hang-out in town.
    The Village Antiques and Tea Room is described by co-owner Marcel Allard as "a pot-pourri of experience and what we love."
    The ultra-quaint Williamsburg business was created partly because Allard and partner Victor Dupuis wanted to escape the rat race of the city, and partly because they wanted a business where they could show off their talents.
    The partners have worked for years in exclusive French restaurants in the Gatineau-area and owned an antique shop in Ottawa.
    Walking into the 16-seat (or less depending if they sold a table or not, says Dupuis, because everything there has a price tag) tea room is a treat to the senses.
    The Victorian atmosphere is comforting, especially when the fireplace is roaring - almost like stepping into grandma's house.
    The light aroma of tea is in the air. (Amazingly, they have 60 different kinds of tea to choose from).
    The menu offers such big city delicacies as Steak & Kidney pie, Braised Chicken Breast, Crepe Cannelloni and one of the best-tasting carrot cakes in SD & G.
    "What's funny about this tea room is when people visit they usually come back the very same week with a friend or relative, almost like they 'discovered' something," says Dupuis, who opened in October 1992. (The antique shop originally opened in 1989, but the men closed up shop due to lack of customers. They re-opened and added the tea room and gift shop when people started to knock on their door asking where the antique shop was).
    Why Williamsburg? "Our friends still ask us where in the world is Williamsburg," laughs Dupuis who is from Georgian Bay.
    "We chose the area because we got the building at a great price. Besides, it's a high traffic area."
    They've had to rely on traffic because their phone number isn't listed anywhere. "It's a good thing this is a friendly town because often people call the Canadian Tire or other businesses looking for our phone number," says Dupuis, adding that the men did all the extensive renovations themselves. "You couldn't hire anyone to do all the work we did," says Allard looking around the colorful room as Bach's music lingers in the air.

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