About Us

It all started when Tom & Carey Tarkman having lived their lives, raised their children, and spent their working years in Northern California, retired to Wichita, KS back in May of 2018. They settled in a lovely home in the College Hill neighborhood. They got here and Carey quickly said, “Where are the Tea Rooms out here?” She had had a favorite tea room in Campbell, CA, owned and run by a Christian business woman. She and her family had frequented it and supported her business for many years. The idea of owning and operating a tea room of her own had been percolating in the back of Carey’s mind for some thirty plus years. Whenever Carey mentioned the idea of a tea room to ladies here in Wichita, they all said they missed having one, and would she please open one?

As long-time active social ballroom dancers, Tom & Carey enjoyed going for a number of years to the First Friday Dinner Dances at the Peninsula Italian-American Social Club (PIASC) in San Mateo, CA. Live bands for dancing to, wonderful food, and friendly, fun folks they got to know and be with again and again. They loved to get dressed up, and were usually the first couple to hit the dance floor. When they married, they had their wedding and reception featuring an eight-piece band there. Both of these places and activities were the two big things that were dearly missed, having to leave them behind in CA.

Along with social dancing (they met in a Beginning Foxtrot class) and having many other shared hobbies and interests, Carey and Tom both own and wear wear original, authentic vintage clothing of the 1930s and 1940s. They share a passion for the films, music, clothing, and lifestyle of those decades. Carey has famously said for many years, “If there isn’t an event I can find to get dressed up for, I’ll create one! “

Fast forward to early 2023, Carey decided to create an exclusive and unique vintage style “At-Home” English-style Afternoon Tea experience, in their 1939 historic home. Within months, she’d need to find a shared-use commercial kitchen scenario, and started making calls and talking with business owners.

But unbeknownst to both she and husband Tom at this time, God had even bigger plans in store for them in their now busy and active retired lives. In mid-March, a friend sent Carey a link for a auction listing of a 1922 property in the Riverside neighborhood of Wichita. Tom won the auction, as a gift for Carey and the property has became theirs. Listed as permit use for Commercial Assembly, they decided to turn the Tea Room plans completely on its head. They would create a private, paid-membership Women’s Social Club. The Rose & Peacock Tea Room, LLC would become the exclusive food servicer/caterer for The Rose & Peacock Social Club (TR&PSC). The facility would be used for the Club members and their guests.