Tea for two: Family-run restaurant offers quiet atmosphere, healthy food

By Linwood Outlaw III -- Daily Staff Writer

WOODSTOCK -- If you're ever shopping for some yarn at the FiberSmyth store on 135 Lora Drive, feel free to take a short stroll across the hall for a bowl of Tomato Bisque or a slice of cheesecake.

Paul McCarus, left, talks with his daughter, Rachel Canada, as she prepares a meal at The Cup and Crumpet in Woodstock. The duo are co-owners of the restaurant, which is in the same building as their family's other stores, FiberSmyth yarn shop and Broadleaf Photography. Dennis Grundman/Daily Sonja May, of Roanoke, left, and Tony Chaves, of Annandale, meet at The Cup and Crumpet for tea. The dining room of the restaurant is situated in what used to be the kitchen of an old house. Dennis Grundman/Daily

Rachel Canada and her father, Paul McCarus, recently opened a small restaurant, The Cup and Crumpet, next door to the yarn shop. The restaurant has been open for business for nearly three months.

Canada says the restaurant is a unique addition to the area because she and her father make their soups, quiches and desserts from scratch. They either grow their own vegetables or buy organic ones, and they use healthy fats whenever possible. No trans fats are found in any of the restaurant's foods, Canada said.

"We're big on desserts, and we make everything from scratch. So, that's the big focus of it," Canada said. "We try to use healthy oils. We're concerned about what goes into the food."

It should be fairly easy for the restaurant's patrons to feel right at home. The small eatery, which is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., is on the first floor of what was merely a two-story home on Lora Drive.

On a busy day, it can seat a maximum of about 20 people. Customers dine and converse inside an actual house kitchen while McCarus and his daughter prepare their meals a short distance away.

The restaurant is the most recent family business venture to be operated under the roof of the Lora Drive home. McCarus' wife, Elizabeth, owns and operates the FiberSmyth yarn shop adjacent to the restaurant. Canada's husband, Roger, operates his Broadleaf Photography studio above both businesses on the top floor.

Canada says she and her father particularly chose to open the restaurant to give those husbands or boyfriends who are dragged to the yarn shop by their female love interests an alternative.

"Dad always thought that when women were coming in here to the yarn shop that husbands and boyfriends were waiting outside. And, he thought that it would be good for them to have a place to come in and kind of hang out while the women were shopping. So that was part of it," Canada said. "We've always enjoyed food. Our family has always been into food."

Canada said customers appear to appreciate the home-like environment the restaurant provides compared to the more congested scenes at larger restaurants.

"We have found that people seem really comfortable and just kind of come in and hang out. We have our regular customers that come in a couple of times a week," Canada said.

However, because the business isn't located in the heart of the downtown area, Canada admits the eatery can be difficult to spot.

"People have to be kind of looking for us to find us," she said. "I think a lot of it is word of mouth. The yarn shop customers were the first people that we had in here and they've just told people about it. Now, our customer base is mostly not people who came in to shop at the yarn shop. We've done a little advertising. But, really, we're just [starting out] slowly and [taking out time to] develop. It's just the two of us in there, and there's only so much that two people can handle."

The Cup and Crumpet serves full-size sandwiches -- ranging from $4.95 to $5.45 -- with a small side salad and creamy balsamic house dressing. Customers can choose from such offerings as a roast beef sandwich with Gorgonzola mayonnaise, avocado, tomato and leaf lettuce; roasted asparagus with creamy Brie served open-faced and toasted on Italian bread; or a smoked turkey sandwich with Gouda cheese, fig marmalade, red onion and leaf lettuce.

The signature Cup and Crumpet Egg Salad with sun-dried tomato, capers and green onion with leaf lettuce is another popular dish, Canada said. The eatery also serves Tomato Bisque soup and two classic English quiches with homemade pastry crust. Cheesecake, Dark Chocolate Torte, cheesecake brownies and crumpets and jam top the restaurant's dessert list.

McCarus says those who visit the restaurant will find that it's a real bargain.

"We have good food at reasonable prices in a nice, comfortable setting," he said. "People seem to like it. People come back."

*Contact Linwood Outlaw III at loutlaw@nvdaily.com