Carrollton eateries to be featured on America's Best Restaurants
CARROLLTON ‒ Local restaurants Van Horne Grande Tea Room and Reminisce Ice Cream Parlor will be hosting a visit from America’s Best Restaurantsin early September.
America’s Best Restaurants, a national media and marketing company focusing on bringing attention to local, independently owned restaurants, will bring its ABR Roadshow to both restaurants on Sept. 7. Popular dishes will be highlighted, along with an extensive on-camera interview with owner Randi Bake about the restaurants’ place in the community.
The episodes will be aired extensively on social media channels at a later date.
On the National Register of Historic Places
Bake owns the building that houses both eateries with her son Grant. The space, which will celebrate its 200th birthday in 2028 and is on the National Register of Historic Places, sat empty for decades before Grant purchased it and began extensive renovations. There are 52 rooms on the upper floors plus a ballroom.
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“We were in awe,” Randi Bake said, upon seeing the space for the first time. “The feeling we got was just amazing. It was so inviting. The building wanted us to bring it back to life.”
Bake opened the tearoom in September 2021, with fiance Rex Sponhaltz as chef. They offer afternoon tea for one or two people, homemade desserts such as red velvet cake or carrot cake, scones, quiche, panini and soups, including cream of mushroom, which Sponhaltz says gets a lot of accolades.
Above all Bake said she wants people to enjoy the unusual ambiance of what she has created in order for them to escape their everyday troubles, even for just a little while.
“We created this place for people to get away from the crazy hectic world out there and come in and destress and recharge and enjoy something. This is totally unique. Even other tea rooms aren’t as Victorian or as ornate as ours. You feel like you’re going back in time," she said.
Ice cream parlor has '50s, '60s decor
In the same block, Bake has also opened Reminisce Ice Cream Parlor, which will also be featured. It sports 1950s-1960s decor, a jukebox, and 16 flavors of Chocolate Shoppe ice cream from Madison, Wisc. Candy, baked goods and ice cream novelties round out the menu of this nostalgic atmosphere.
The restaurants’ finished episodes premiere dates will be announced on their Facebook pages and will be featured on America’s Best Restaurants’ website.
The Van Horne Grand Tea Room is at 24 W. Main St. and Reminisce Ice Cream is at 61 N. Lisbon St.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: America's Best Restaurants will feature two Carrollton eateries
