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Step inside a pink-and-blue 1903 Victorian house for an experience meant to make you feel special – regardless of how you’re dressed or how much you can afford to spend.
“Everyone is welcome By the Teashore,” said Angela Pierucci, owner of the new Half Moon Bay breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea spot.
Opening Sept. 5, By the Teashore has been a dream years in the making. The restaurant and teahouse, located in the former home of Velvet Hippo Lounge, will offer a variety of gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan options, as well as a kids’ menu – all for an affordable price, Pierucci said. A former single mother, Pierucci aims to make her debut restaurant accessible.
“I want our single moms and our single dads and our farmworkers and our seniors and our high schoolers, I want everybody to be able to get something,” she said. “I don’t want to price people out.”
Above all, Pierucci wants to make each and every guest feel special – the same way she and her children felt celebrating their birthdays every year at the now-closed afternoon tea spot The English Rose in San Carlos.
“I just remember feeling that I was somewhere special, somewhere different, that you can’t just go anywhere and get that kind of experience,” said Isaac Boland, Pierucci’s son. “I just remember it feeling very magical.”
But after about 12 years of their family birthday tradition, The English Rose suddenly shuttered in 2012.
“I’ve just had this hole in my heart ever since then,” Pierucci said. “I’ve just always had this feeling that I needed to recreate that, I needed to feel that warmth and that tradition.”
In January 2023, inspiration struck when Pierucci thought of the name By the Teashore. She took it as a sign to jump on pursuing her dream. It took her 13 months to trademark the name, and she began collecting vintage china, mirrors, artwork and chandeliers while balancing her full-time job as an executive assistant and looking for the perfect restaurant location.
Pierucci grew up in San Bruno and lived in San Carlos for over two decades, but Half Moon Bay, where she lives now, holds an extra special place in her heart.
“I’ve been coming to the coast my entire life, like I’d go sing at the ocean, cry at the ocean when a boy broke up with me,” she said. “Half Moon Bay is such a charming town with friendly people and just a whole different kind of lifestyle.”
Pierucci had her eye on the 1903 Victorian for a long time. The first time she saw the “for rent” sign out front, the owner of next-door Sacrilege Brewery had just agreed to sign lease papers for Velvet Hippo. But she kept her eye on the spot and when she saw the sign return, she called again.
Since acquiring the space, Pierucci has been creating an ambiance that she describes as vintage elegance. The deep turquoise and pink walls are adorned with vintage china, mirrors and paintings. Vintage chandeliers hang from the ceiling, including a pink-and-clear vintage Murano glass chandelier with flowers and leaves. The inside seats about 24 people.
In the front of the house is a heated, dog-friendly patio that seats eight. There’s also a porch with four shell-shaped pink chairs.
The menu is curated by Pierucci, a home cook and avid cookbook collector with more than 700 titles in her collection. Every table will have a full set of matching china, and Pierucci has made her own three-tiered china servers.
For breakfast, options include custard baked French toast with vanilla chai spice and Chantilly cream, almond butter oatmeal with stewed blueberries and yogurt parfait with dark chocolate, pistachios and strawberries ($14-$21). Lunch fare includes lamb and wild mushroom shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash, citrus-encrusted salmon, lentils with sage creme fraiche and kale-quinoa salad ($10-$24). And the kids’ menu has caramel apple pancakes, butterfly pasta with veggies and more ($8-$13).
Guests can choose between three menus for afternoon tea ($32-$43), and food is plated on a three-tiered server. All sets include a choice of sandwiches and scones. Sandwich options include cream cheese and cucumber, curried chicken, egg salad, turkey with cranberry and walnuts or roast beef and horseradish, and scone options include blueberry orange, Earl Grey, pumpkin spice and zucchini carrot. Scones are served with olallieberry preserves, lemon curd and clotted cream.
All three afternoon tea options also include spring mix salad with herb vinaigrette, fresh fruit, a lemon lavender tea cookie and a bottomless pot of tea. There are 19 tea options, including a black tea with rose petals and cacao nibs, a sencha green tea with pomegranate and an herbal tea with hibiscus flowers, rose hips, fruit pieces and blue cornflower petals.
Depending on the tea set, patrons may also receive a chocolate-covered strawberry, mini quiche, macaron or a Wave Treat, a melted sugar bowl with vanilla ice cream.
TEAny Tea, a kids’ tea plate, includes one sandwich, one scone served with olallieberry preserves and clotted cream, light whipped cream in a mini ice cream cone with sprinkles, fresh fruit, strawberry and blueberry yogurt in a mini mason jar and a lavender tea cookie ($22).
“I’m just a 58-year-old gal who has the energy, hopefully, of a 30-year-old and just is totally changing gears,” Pierucci said of quitting her job in May to go full time with By the Teashore. “This is a huge departure, and it could be inspirational for some people who are considering following a dream.”
Through it all, her biggest supporters have been her children, she said.
“They have always been and will always be my inspiration,” Pierucci said. “They are everything to me, and we’ve just been through the ringer together, and they are so proud of me. They’ve never thought (opening a teahouse) was crazy. In fact, one of them said to me, ‘Mom, if anybody can do this, it’s you.’”
Her daughter, Allie Boland, described Pierruci as “passionate, creative, friendly and very resourceful,” and said she’s proud of her mom for achieving her dream.
“I’m looking forward to seeing her see joy through other people and welcoming the community,” she said. “Because I think she’s just so jazzed about getting people actually in there and giving people a good experience.”
“(My mom) happily supported me and my sister’s dreams our entire lives, so it’s amazing as an adult, seeing her not just as my mom, but as another human being chasing her dreams,” added Isaac Boland. “I want people to know that (By the Teashore) was created with so much love and care.”
With opening day approaching, Pierucci invites everyone to come by, whether they’re celebrating a special occasion or just grabbing a bite.
“My only goal is to make people feel special,” she said. “ If they feel special, I’ve done my job.”
By the Teashore, 724 Main St., Half Moon Bay; 650-713-6562, Instagram: @bytheteashore. Soft opening Aug. 30-31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Starting Sept. 5, open Wednesday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon, lunch and afternoon tea from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with final seating at 1:30 p.m.
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