Tabitha's Tea Celebrates 1st Year in Brandon

This week marked the one-year anniversary for a Tabitha's Tea in Brandon, where "fine dining and the highest-quality loose-leaf teas" are served along with artisan sandwiches, salads, scones and soups.

Owned by Barbara Madonna and her daughters Lori Mincey and Glorida Madonna, is open at 2052 Badlands Dr., on Tuesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The family's fate as tea room operators was cemented after a period of time visiting tea rooms and hosting tea parties at home.

"We just started going to tea rooms, years and years ago, collecting china," said Mincey, at the 2012 Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce Brandon . "They're all very different, so we wanted to experience all the different teas and things they had to offer."

From there, Mincey added, "it snowballed into opening our own tea room."

That happened on May 24, 2011, and now, a year later, Tabitha's Tea continues to showcase menu items "made from scratch with only the finest ingredients."

Customers can book parties and events and visit the Loose Leaf Teas and China Boutique, with dozens of varieties of teas to choose from, both hot and iced.