Today we’d like to introduce you to Green House Tearoom.
Hi Green House Tearoom, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Richard Graessel and James Wheeler,
co-owners of The Green House
Tearoom, served as Pennsylvania State
Troopers for 25 years. After retiring from
the state police, Richard purchased the
building located at 403 Cherokee St Bethlehem, PA The building was built in 1905 and was originally the home of Charles Green owner and operator of the
the charles H. Green Plumbing
company, a company which he ran from
1889 to 1954. The building later became
apartments which Graessel was managing as the owner.
Graessel. and Wheeler had been close
friends through their entire career with
the state police and remained close
friends after their careers. Graessel had
reached out to Wheeler about helping
him with some repairs to a front porch
root on the building. Alter seeing the
buildings amazing architecture, Wheeler
told Graessel that he should try and
open the building to the public
somehow so they can appreciate it.
Graessel took that idea to the next level after having afternoon tea with his
Mother and two daughters. He
presented his new inspiration to
Wheeler by saying., ” I know what we’re
doing with my building, were opening.
the tea room”. To which Wheeler
immediately responded, ” a Tearoom
you say, I’m in”. The 2 just felt it was like a hand in a glove. They wanted to create an elegant setting that everyone could enjoy. With Graessel at the helm, it took the two partners a little over a year in renovations and approvals from the city on variances.
Wheeler and Graessel always had plans of something bigger even while they were working as state troopers. They both said that they had good ideas but just never pulled the trigger on any of them. But this time, they both decided to “follow through on a great. idea”
:And.on June 4, 2025. Their dream
became a reality and The Green House Tearoom was open for business
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Finding attorneys to represent us for the variance
Moving from a law enforcement career to the restaurant industry
Opening and manipulating social media accounts after both of us never having any
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are an elegant full service tearoom
We offer a full service afternoon tea experience with unlimited tea
Our teas are exceptional and we pride ourselves on each tea we select
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Talk to EVERYONE. As police officers we both realize that there are 2 sides to every story and everyone’s opinions and suggestions are important to us.
We try to talk to and listen to every guest
Everyone is important to us
Pricing:
- $60 per person full service Tea Experience
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thegreenhousetearoom.com
