Tea, scones and repaired zippers
Two years ago, Marcia Cherrito turned a storefront on Parkville’s main shopping drag into Shabby Hattie’s, a tearoom that served lunch, a wide selection of flavored teas, and various geegaws and gift items. The place is cute as hell, and the food is good, but Cherrito realized that she needed another source of income to keep her business going in this economy. So she recently brought her sewing machine into the restaurant and has started sewing for her customers.
That’s right: Each afternoon, after lunch service ends at 2:30 p.m., Cherrito pulls aside a set of pink floral curtains in the back of the narrow dining room and rolls out her electric sewing machine. For the last few weeks, she has been replacing zippers, hemming up pant cuffs, whipping up chair covers and pillows, repairing torn shirt sleeves, and anything else that requires a needle and thread.
It’s like going home to visit Mom on spring break — with tea and scones. The difference is that Mom might perform those necessary sewing repairs on the spot, Cherrito may require a couple of days. “I love to sew,” Cherrito says, “but I’m still cooking everything from scratch, too.”
