Vintage Petals Tea Shoppe co-owner Julie Puchala poses in the tea area of the reopened business. The store opened at the end of November in the new Six Stones building on 101 Street. They will be holding their grand opening Dec. 15 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Lucie Roy Photo
by Stephen Dafoe
Morinville – There is a smile on Julia Puchala’s face as she offers a tour of the new building that houses her and Noreen Radford’s Vintage Petals Tea Shoppe, opened in late November behind Quinn’s Plumbing and Heating on 101 Street. The soft opening allowed old and new clientele an opportunity to patronize the business, which closed in mid-July at its former location on the corner of 100 Avenue and 100 Street. Though reopening the tea, gift and flower store took a little longer than anticipated, Puchala said she and Radford wanted to take the time to get everything right.
“We’re back in business and excited,” Puchala said, adding the change in name reflects the fact the business is no longer in the old house and no longer serving lunches. “We still have all our teas and we’re serving teas and desserts. Our desserts will be locally made by Kelly the baker.”
New location, familiar and new services
Puchala said she and Radford are continuing to offer the same product lines as they did at their previous location. “There’ll always be something unique and different than your going to find somewhere else,” she said, adding they carry more than 100 varieties of loose teas. Additionally, they have expanded their fresh flower cooler and are still offering floral arrangements as before. Opposite Vintage Petals Tea Shoppe in the same Six Stones building is Vintage Glam, a full service hair salon run by Puchala’s daughter.
The proprietor said the soft opening was a success; old customers are excited they are open again and new customers were excited to have found them.
New location locally sourced
The new location is a modern building with a touch of the vintage flare the business still carries in its name. Not only are they getting their desserts locally, Puchala is quite proud the building was built and decorated with local supplies. “It was 85 to 90 per cent local businesses that built this,” she said of the Six Stones building built by Homes by 2 Bros. “The labour and the flooring was purchased here. A lot of the lumber came from Castle. The plumber was from Cardiff; the electrician was from town here. It was all locally built. They didn’t go to Edmonton.” Puchala said she was also grateful to her friend Tim Morrison for his assistance on the interior work to get the shop ready.
Puchala said the building is named Six Stones in homage to her late husband Brian who passed away suddenly on Dec. 15, 2010. “The reason why it is [called] Six Stones is because my husband Brian was the rock in our family and worked in a rock quarry,” she said. “We have six children which I guess are our stones.” Puchala and Radford will be holding their grand opening on Dec. 15 from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m., three years after Mr. Puchala’s passing.
Vintage Petals Tea Shoppe is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The extra effort needed to brew tea using loose tea is well worth the effort. Far far, better than any bagged tea can provide. They have a great selection, and, you can sit down and try a cup of it first. I used to take my kids to the old location for tea and a treat. They loved it!!! I’ve already been into the new location and WOW!!!! Great selection of unique gift ideals. AND, NO, I did not receive compensation for the review. Just sharing my experience there.