Changes continue at the Spring Creek Shopping Center at Belt Line and Coit, as new owner JAH Realty LP renovates the site and signs new tenants: Those with fond memories of Mary Ellen’s Tea Room in the center’s shady courtyard may have been dismayed to hear of its closing, but they can take heart! Kathy’s Choice Catering and Tea Room is continuing the tea room tradition there.
After an extensive remodeling, the new restaurant is open for lunch, Monday through Saturday, and is booking reservations for private parties and cooking classes. The new interior, which seats 36, features a cozy, residential ambiance in the main dining area and a prime view of the bustle in the kitchen for those who wish to dine counter-side. Outdoors the patio seats up to 16 under eye-catching red umbrellas. Plans are in the works to expand the patio space in the future.
“I’ve wanted to be in this location for a long time, said Kathy’s Choice’s owner, Kathy Lang, who moved her business from a location near Tom Thumb Grocery on Arapaho Road in Richardson. “I love this area. I shopped here and even worked at Brown’s Circus Bootery back when Spring Creek Village was the place to shop for children’s wear.” (Long-time area residents will remember the Plum Tree, The Branch, and Circus Bootery, the trio of upscale shops that outfitted local kids in their Sunday best in former years.)
Lang founded her catering company in 1998. A former employee of the Staubach Company, she got her start catering Staubach events. The new restaurant space will also serve as her catering kitchen as she continues to turn out such signature dishes as Cranberry Chicken Salad, prize-winning Mama’s Meatloaf Cupcakes and Snicker Chocolate Chip Cookies for corporate events and private parties.
Meanwhile, ladies- (and lucky fellas) who-lunch can sample the modernized tea room menu to be found in the middle of the newly refurbished shopping center at the northwest corner of Belt Line and Coit roads crossing.
Valerie Jarvie is a Far North Dallas resident and freelance food writer.
