Front Street Gets a Tea Room in Time for Downtown Monument's Holiday Open House

Some travelers bring home shot glasses. Melissa Holtzlander brought home tea towels from all over the world, and over about ten years she added china and antique furniture for a tea house she had no opening date for. The Monument Independent reports that she opened it on Sept. 29 in Suite 8 at 251 Front Street, and the towels, china and furniture are all inside.

In Suite 4 of the same building, Faery Grove marks its fifth anniversary this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7, as part of the Downtown Monument Holiday Open House. That timing says something about how the season downtown is put together. The first weekend belongs to the storefronts. Clubs, the Chamber and the Town take over the weekends after it, and the calendar doesn't head back toward the shops until the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Suite 8 Opened Five Weeks Before the Open House

Ruby Rae's Vintage Tea House is a family business. Holtzlander retired from the Air Force in 2023 after 20 years of service, and her last assignment was Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs. She runs the tea house with her husband, Gerald, who is co-owner and manager, and their children work as servers. According to the Monument Independent, the idea came from one of her six assignments, at Royal Air Force Lakenheath in England:

"Living in England was a dream come true and I fell in love with the tea culture."

The room seats 30. You book afternoon tea online in two-hour sittings and pay in advance. Walk-ins are welcome for a pot of tea, a cream tea or a look around the shop, where some of the china is for sale. These are the menu prices the Monument Independent published in October. The online booking prices include tax, so they come out a little higher.

The Garden Tea comes with loose-leaf tea, three tea sandwiches, a savory course, a scone with Devonshire cream and preserves, and a plate of small desserts. Each step up adds more. The Duchess adds a mini trifle and unlimited refills. The Signature adds tarts, a sparkling drink and tea to take home. Every sweet and savory item comes from The Northumbrian Bakery, a British bakery in Sedalia. The savory list includes pot pies, a Coronation chicken wrap, quiche and sausage rolls.

For holiday gifts, the house line is called R&R Blends, a nod to the military's "rest and recuperation." The names include At Ease, a caffeine-free mint, ginger and rooibos blend; Sunrise Salute; Golden Valor; and The Rosie Reset. Each sells for $20.95. A second line, the Tea House Blends, sells for $15.95 and includes Ruby Grey, Victory Garden and The Cozy Corset. Both lines are sold online and shipped. Holtzlander also plans seasonal afternoon teas, themed gatherings and tastings. Private parties, from birthdays to bridal showers, are booked through [email protected]. The phone number is 719-357-7614. You can book on the Ruby Rae's website.

Suite 4 Turns Five the Same Weekend

Faery Grove is a crystal and gift shop in Suite 4 of the same building. It's holding its holiday open house and fifth-anniversary celebration Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7, from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. both days. The shop is offering giveaways, holiday sales and live handpan music by Aroma Soma.

Faery Grove's own event listing calls the weekend part of Downtown Monument's Holiday Open House, with other downtown businesses taking part. That puts two very different stages of a Front Street business at one address. One shop is celebrating five years, and its neighbor in Suite 8 is going into its first holiday season after opening in late September.

Downtown Businesses Set the First Weekend

On the Tri-Lakes Chamber's downtown page, the Holiday Open House is a recurring date, the first Friday and Saturday in November. It promises "food, fun, special events, and sales as downtown businesses kick off the holiday season." No parade or tree lighting anchors it. The shops are the event, and each one decides what its own weekend looks like, the way Faery Grove chose giveaways and a handpan set.

The same Chamber page lists parking at the Lewis-Palmer Administration Building, Limbach Park and Saint Peter's Church.

After Opening Weekend, the Hosts Change

From mid-November on, the calendar moves into gyms, private homes, a school and the town park. Most of the dates are run by community organizations, and Small Business Saturday brings the focus back to downtown storefronts in between.

A few details for planning:

• The Holiday Boutique lists more than 50 vendors and its annual bake sale.
• The Tri-Lakes Women's Club home tour benefits local nonprofits, public education and service providers.
• The Chamber calls Small Business Saturday "the most important shopping day of the year for our local economy" and says money spent locally, instead of online or in other cities, keeps more revenue in town.
• Small Town Christmas brings visits from Santa, Mrs. Claus and their reindeer, plus hay rides and crafts.
• At the Annual Tree Lighting, activities, live entertainment and food trucks come before Santa arrives to light the trees in Limbach Park. Guests are asked to bring nonperishable food donations for Tri-Lakes Cares.

Small Business Saturday is the one later date that brings the storefronts back to the center.

Two Blocks Over, Downtown's Next Gathering Spot

The Monument Independent reported that the Heart of Monument Play Park broke ground Aug. 10 at Second and Adams Streets. According to that report, it's an accessible playground, built as a Town of Monument project, with fundraising by the Monument Hill Kiwanis Club and land donated by Monument Community Presbyterian Church. The project's website says Phase One is fully funded. The Kiwanis Club behind the park is also running the North Pole fair on Dec. 5.

Downtown's holiday calendar starts Friday at 11 a.m. at 251 Front Street. Faery Grove has giveaways and handpan music in Suite 4, and the tea house in Suite 8 takes walk-ins for a pot of tea.

Downtown Monument works because its storefronts, clubs and town events keep filling the calendar, and the same local knowledge matters when you're weighing a move in the Tri-Lakes area. If you're thinking about what your home is worth this winter, or what you'd find a few blocks from Front Street, Strategic Property Advisors can walk you through it. Request a Market Consultation.