After the July 2016 tragedy, women of Main Street share their stories
Tea on the Tiber embraces the opportunity to change
Text by Halima Aziza and Amanda Loudin Photography by Mary C. Gardella
December 2016/January 2017
Though Linda Jones was initially in shock after the flood destroyed her Main Street tea room, she grew to look 
on the bright side. “This was a great opportunity to change things at Tea on the Tiber,” says Jones, who opened the business in 2012. Her daughter, Sarah Blazucki, established a GoFundMe page that raised $11,600 from early August to late September to help with renovations. The new tearoom, which was scheduled to open in November, features new floors and walls, with gift items moved to the front of the shop, and a larger kitchen so employees have more room to maneuver.
Before she opened her business, Jones had worked as a bookkeeper for many years, dreaming of running a bed and breakfast. After raising three children, she researched the logistics of her dream only to conclude that running a B&B wasn’t the career fit she had imagined. But life had something else in store.
While searching Craigslist, Jones happened upon a listing for “a British restaurant” in Ellicott City and recognized the description. “I realized that Tea on the Tiber was for sale,” she says. Her daughter Rachel had taken her there once for her birthday. “I loved the act of afternoon tea,” says Jones.
When she purchased the business at 8081 Main Street, Jones retained all of its employees, though she added another. Her mother, 86, decorously folds the napkins while she’s watching her favorite TV shows.
Located in an 1890 stone house built over the Tiber River, the business resembles a traditional English tearoom, serving a “shopper’s tea” with scones and fruit, as well as a classic high tea with sweets and savories, where guests typically linger in the grand parlor or the sunroom for a couple of hours. The gift shop is stocked with tins of loose tea, imported bone china and all manner of gift items.
On July 30, Tea on the Tiber had a full house for both seatings, says Jones, who left early to visit her in-laws. The rest of the staff closed up and left at about 6:30 p.m. Jones received a weather alert on her phone later that evening, but didn’t think much of it. “I figured, ‘How much water will we have in the basement?’”
As the rain continued to fall, she happened to read a Facebook post from a friend on Main Street who described retreating to the second floor of her building. Jones turned to her husband Dave and said, “I think we’re in trouble.”
After the flood, county officials allowed business owners to return briefly to Main Street to retrieve valuables. Jones needed four things: computer, cashbox, reservation book and time cards. She wanted to ensure that her staff received their wages.
“My employees have been awesome through this whole thing,” says Jones.
Once inside Tea on the Tiber, Jones found drywall and railings torn down, toppled furniture, and a floor covered in two or three inches of mud and debris. An antique secretary had blocked the door and chairs were strewn up against the fireplace.
“I was wearing galoshes. I heard glass breaking as I walked in the muck,” recalls Jones, who had stepped on smashed dishes. Despite the mess, the tables were still set with tablecloths and china, just as the employees had left them before locking up.
Jones retrieved her items while her husband took photographs, then they left. Her computer and cashbox were ruined. Debris and leaves filled the reservation book. Payroll documents, however, had survived.
“When I got back to the car, that’s when I cried,” says Jones.
The tearoom had suffered much destruction. Wooden bookcases, curio cabinets, vases, teapots and items from the gift shop had been tossed around violently. Only the china and metal shelving could be saved; everything else went to the dumpster.
After working daily to restore her restaurant, Jones was anxious to reopen Tea on the Tiber. “Really, I just miss my employees – and serving tea,” she says. *
– H.A.
