A UNIQUE Reading tea room will celebrate its 10th year afloat this Summer.
Whittington’s Tea Barge is moored on the north bank of the river Thames alongside Hills Meadows. It reopens for the season on Saturday, March 26.
For owners Andrew Craig and Lesley Banks, this year is an opportunity to say thank you to their regular customers, many of whom have now become friends of the couple.
“Neither of us are from Reading, we didn’t know anybody,” Andrew says.
“We moved purely for the barge because we needed navigable waterways.
“Walking down the Thames Path, we felt that the stretch of river between Caversham and Reading was perfect.”
The couple were living in Yateley when they came up with the idea for a floating tea room. Andrew had a background in catering, and a higher national diploma in hotel management. Lesley is a professional singer, with a degree from Royal Academy of Music and no previous experience in the hospitality industry.
Andrew explains that it was Lesley who suggested a floating tea room: “The idea was to have something quirky and not on the high street, and I was living on a boat at the time too.
“We discovered that it was cheaper to build a boat from scratch than to have a premises on land.”
The couple are grateful to Reading Borough Council employees who have helped them to navigate planning and licensing requirements for the barge over the past decade, particularly Marcus Herman and his successor Luke Lloyd.
“Our tea barge was quite unusual back then,” Andrew explains.
“We like to think we inspired barge cafés and restaurants which have opened around the UK since.”
Construction of the barge began in November 2011, and took eight months. It was delivered to the couple on August 1, 2012, and opened to the public ten days later, August 11, at its original site on Christchurch Meadows.
“Our customer base built up steadily, mostly by word-of-mouth,” Andrew says.
“It was pretty good when we won coffee shop of the year at the Reading Retail Awards in 2012, given that we’re only open for nine months of the year.
“Being on the Thames Path means that lots of people pass by.
“We’re a destination café too now, one lady came to us after having had tea at The Ritz and said that our scones are better, and to be mentioned in the same breath as Cliveden House Hotel as a top place to have afternoon tea is amazing.”
Lockdown closures meant that Andrew was placed on furlough. Self-employed Lesley was able to offer a cream tea hamper home delivery service, which proved to be popular.
“The Whittington’s at Home service meant that we gained new customers from people wanting to try something a bit different.
“Deliveries were made out to Henley, Charvil and Twyford.
“We hope they will come and visit us on the barge this year.”
Plans for the Whittingtons season include invitation only 10th anniversary cruises for Andrew and Lesley’s friends and regulars. Bookings for Mothering Sunday, which falls on March 27, are now being taken.
For more information, visit: facebook.com/whittingtonsteabarge
