A Growing Future
Garden Room and Anaba Tea Room
Garden Room and Anaba Tea Room have become so much a part of Shorewood that it’s hard to remember when it was a nondescript auto garage. Then along came Deborah Kern. A legal seretary for many years and an avid gardener, Deborah was frustrated because she couldn't find the right garden tools and accessories. She suspected that other folks had the same problem, so she decided to change careers and open her own garden store in Shorewood.
“When I walked into this building I knew it was the right place,” Deborah says. But she didn’t know the challenges she would face in transforming it into the award-winning structure it is today. Work began in the fall of 2000, and so did the misadventures. A cherry picker plunged through the unstable first floor. The winter was cold, cold, cold and lots of snow fell into the roofless building. It then melted and had to be pumped out onto Capitol Dr. –where it immediately froze. Ton of debris had to be hauled away. Supplies had to be stored in the building, so when it came to pouring the basement floor, everything had to be moved to one side, and then moved onto the finished floor for the second half to be completed. The architect likened the project to building a ship in a bottle.
While passersby wondered what was going on inside and if the place would ever be finished, Deborah was undaunted. Finally, on November 15, 2001, Garden Room opened – 28 months after she first saw the building and 16 months after renovation began.
The rooftop garden is literally Garden Room’s crowning achievement. “After all, what good is a garden store without a garden,” says Deborah. The garden is built around a brick path that encircles a massive skylight that illuminates the store below as well as the tea room on the lower level. Stepping on to the roof is like a retreat from reality. It’s a wonderful place to relax, enjoy lunch or a soothing cup of tea while taking in a unique view of Shorewood from above.
Deborah and manager Doug McDonald keep the Garden Room well-stocked with unusual and intriguing items that make the store an eclectic wonderland of all things garden-related – both antique and new. In the fascinating array, shoppers will find whimsical garden statuary, fountains, birdhouses, colorful watering cans, practical and pretty pots and tubs, garden wear, books, a fun corner for young gardeners, and more. If you don’t see what you want, it can be easily ordered. And Deborah hasn’t forgotten why she opened the store in the first place – the right gardening tools. Garden Room features a wide selection of high quality tools to make any gardening job easier. “I love this place,” says Nancy Balentine, a visiting Chicago gardener. “They have so many unusual things, and at affordable prices."
The lower level of Garden Room offers yet another exciting experience - Anaba Tea Room, named for a Japanese word meaning a pleasant but little-known space. Anaba is a popular get-away for a cup of perfectly steeped tea - there are over 80 varieties - or a lunch created by Chef Gregg Des Rosier (Deborah calls him Chef Extraordinaire). The seasonal menu focuses on locally grown foods, many organic. The delectably decadent desserts are not to be missed, especially the Ginger Mocha Tarts, named one of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Best Recipes of 2009. And don't miss the wonderful rotating art exhibitions displayed on the walls at Anaba - a perfect backdrop for lunch or afternoon tea. Deborah Kern's journey has been both challenging and rewarding "It's been an educational and fun project for me. I've been blessed with wonderful people to work with at the store. I appreciate all the community support and I feel it's important to give back." And she does. The contributions of Garden Room and Anaba Tea Room are apparent just about everywhere in our community, including funding for the Shorewood Library, the Shorewood Criterium Cycling Classic, the annual Garden Tour and the Shorewood SEED Foundation.
New Horizons Charter School’s urban agricultural project was another recent beneficiary. Bohdan Nedilsky, instructional director, calls Garden Room “an invaluable and amazing partner.” There is no doubt that our entire Village agrees.
Garden Room, 2107 E. Capitol Dr., 414.963.1657
Tue.-Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. • Sat.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
www.gardenroomonline.com
Anaba Tea Room, Lower level of Garden Room, 414.963.9510
Tue.-Fri. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. • Sat.-Sun. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
www.anabatearoom.com
Garden Room and Anaba Tea Room
Recipients of Multiple Awards
Garden Room is probably one of Shorewood's most talked-about buildings and certainly its most honored, receiving the following awards Gold Medal from the Association of Licensed Architects, Award of Excellence from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects, Milwaukee Magazine's Best of Awards for Sky Garden in 2003 (and in 2009 for the Anaba Tea Room), and the 2007 Shorewood Buisness Improvement District Business of the Year.
