The Little Tea Shop – Memphis Flyer

If I could only have one thing to eat in this world, it would be chicken salad and frozen fruit at Mortimer’s restaurant. That sounds like two things, but it’s a combo.

My love affair with this Mortimer’s lunch item began when my sister and I began ordering it in the late 1960s or early ’70s at The Little Tea Shop, which was owned at the time by the late Vernon Bell, father of Sara Bell, who now owns Mortimer’s. Mortimer’s uses some recipes that were carried over from the old Little Tea Shop as well as the old Knickerbocker restaurant, which also was owned by Vernon.

Frozen fruit was taken off the menu at The Little Tea Shop a long time ago. I asked one of the restaurant’s veteran servers for the recipe, which she wrote out for me. I tried to make it, but I didn’t know enough about cooking to follow her directions at that time.

It looks like ice cream, but it’s actually made out of marshmallows, fruit cocktail, whipping cream, and topped with cream cheese and cherry juice, which makes the cream cheese pink. When I order it at the bar, I get questions from curious customers who want to know what it is. One person thought it was mashed potatoes.

Chicken salad and frozen fruit at Mortimer’s restaurant (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Years ago, I had a newspaper assignment to write about chicken salads around town. I hadn’t been to Mortimer’s in years. I ordered it from Kris Robertson, who was a server at the time. Then I heard longtime bartender/manager, Mark Esterman, call from the bar, “Does he want frozen fruit?”

I was so excited I’m sure I looked and acted like an idiot. With my mouth twisted into a big gaping smile, I probably yelled, “You have frozen fruit???!!!” After that, I became a Mortimer’s regular. And now 95 percent of the time, I order chicken salad and frozen fruit. It’s a lunch item, but they usually have some left over at dinner time.

I love sweet and savory dishes, so that duo is perfect. I remember being told that my old Memphis Press-Scimitar colleague, the late George Lapides, was a fan of chicken salad and frozen fruit at Mortimer’s.

I called Christopher Jamieson, Sarah’s son and also an owner of Mortimer’s, about the history of my favorite culinary combination.

“It’s popular among the people that know it, if that makes sense,” Jamieson says. “It’s a hard thing to describe. It really doesn’t make sense to most people until they put their eyes on it and try it. I have the same people that come in for it every week.”

Frozen fruit is particularly popular in the summertime, Jamieson says. “With it being cold and kind of refreshing, in a sense. So, anybody with a sweet tooth certainly enjoys it.”

Note: I wrote about the prime rib at Mortimer’s in the February issue of Memphis magazine. I think that’s why my name is now on the sign in front. It reads, “Michael Donahue Says Try Morts You Will Love It.” I’m honored, of course. I like to sit by the window closest to the sign in case somebody comes by my table. I can motion toward the sign with my eyes.

Mortimer’s is at 590 North Perkins Road, (901) 761-9321.

Courtesy of Last Bite Films.

Suhair Lauck at her post behind the Little Tea Shop cash register. From the documentary ‘The Little Tea Shop.’

The Little Tea Shop is closed for now because of the pandemic, but, thanks to Molly Wexler and crew, fans can visit the iconic Downtown restaurant on film.

The Little Tea Shop, Wexler’s documentary on the restaurant owned by Suhair Lauck, will air at 7:30 p.m. July 10th, 3:30 p.m. July 11th, and noon on July 12th on WKNO-TV. “This is the first time anyone will be able to see it,” says Wexler, founder of Last Bite Films. “Technically, this is the premiere. This is the half-hour version. The short version is 16 minutes long. The one we submitted to film festivals.”

The half-hour — actually 25 minutes — version is “more of the people who dined at the restaurant,” she says. It “really tells the history of the restaurant, and it goes in deep with the customers. They’re friends. They’re more than customers. They’re the lifeblood of the restaurant. Of course, we go in and get to know Suhair, too, and why Suhair was able to continue the legacy of The Little Tea Shop and really embrace it and make it grow.”

As for the patrons in the documentary, Wexler says, viewers will “see a lot of Memphis favorites like Henry Turley and Charlie Newman. And Pat Mitchell Worley, Mayor A C Wharton.”

Courtesy of Last Bite Films.

Former Mayor A C Wharton at the Litttle Tea Shop. From the documentary ‘The Little Tea Shop.’

Then there are people like Matt Dellinger, author of Interstate 69, a book about the history of the highway. “He’s a really engaging guy from Brooklyn who we interviewed because we wanted someone who wasn’t from Memphis.”

Dellinger’s story with Lauck is “incredible,” Wexler says. “About 10 years ago he was down in Memphis doing research for a book he was writing and he stumbled into The Little Tea Shop. He wasn’t feeling well. And the way Suhair and some of the other people took care of him, he made life-long bonds with people from here. Because of The Little Tea Shop.”

Asked how the documentary came into being, Wexler says, “I actually got the idea when I saw Suhair out one night and it got me thinking about the Tea Shop and how I went there with my dad when I was a kid. He was a lawyer and working Downtown. I couldn’t believe the restaurant was not just still open, but thriving. I thought, ‘That’s kind of unique. I’m curious to learn more.’”

The Little Tea Shop was founded in 1918 by Lillie E. Parham and Emily A. Carpenter as a place for their friends to eat lunch when they were Downtown. Vernon Bell bought the restaurant in the 1940s. Lauck’s husband, the late James Lauck Sr., bought it in 1982.

Lauck, who was born in Bethany, Palestine, moved to Memphis in 1967 after marrying her first husband, who lived in Memphis. She later married James Lauck, who owned The Little Tea Shop, and began her career at the restaurant.

Courtesy of Last Bite Films.

Suhair Lauck in the LIttle Tea Shop kitchen. From the documentary ‘The Little Tea Shop.’

After she got the idea for the documentary, Wexler began visiting the restaurant, but not telling Lauck what she was up to in case she didn’t pursue the project. “Before I ever was even going to film it, I was doing a bunch of research. Just talking to people who ate at the restaurant to find out if there was enough material there to make the documentary.”

She got together with Newman, John Malmo, and Ken Neill at the restaurant. “Matt was in town. And his relationship with all those people and Suhair was so interesting we arranged to film another day when he was back in town to get him on camera. He adds a lot to the story, I think.”

That “shows how special” The Little Tea Shop is, Wexler says. Someone like Dellinger from Brooklyn “can come in and make these amazing connections. It feels like home here.”

That’s “the root of the story,” she says. “Why is the 102-year-old restaurant so important to so many people as a connector? I think it’s the fact that it feels so comfortable. You feel so welcome.”

A lot of it “has to do with the food. But it has a lot to do with Suhair. The environment she created. I mean, there are many places you can go in Memphis and have a fine meal. You may have great conversations with people you lunch with and that’s the end of the experience. At the Tea Shop, you have a great conversation and so much more. You might meet someone that changes your life. You nourish your body, you nourish your relationships, you nourish your soul.”

And, she says, “You might have a conversation that changes Memphis.”

Courtesy of Last Bite Films.

Familiar fare at the Little Tea Shop. From the documentary ‘The Little Tea Shop.’

Wexler is executive producer and co-director of the documentary. Joseph Carr is producer and Matteo Servente is co-director. “Without Joseph and Matteo, the movie wouldn’t have been made because they brought years of expertise and they were very patient with me.”

As for the documentary-making experience, Wexler says, “I learned that I love making films. I hope I get to do this again. And I love getting to know people and getting their stories. When you give people this platform to share, you learn about the best of people.”

Wexler says she “probably met 50 new friends. We connected through The Little Tea Shop. There are so many neat things about people that are inspirational. There are a lot of exciting and interesting people living in Memphis whom I had the honor to meet.”

They whittled the documentary down to make the 16-minute version for film festivals, she says. “The half-hour version is more Memphis-centric. The shorter version is more universal. I’ve submitted it to about 25 film festivals.”

After the documentary premieres on WKNO, the station is “going to offer it up for other PBS stations in Tennessee and maybe the region to show it if they want to. Ideally, we’d love to get distribution for it. There are a few networks that could be a good fit.

“If it wasn’t for the pandemic, then WKNO would have had a big watch party and everything, but you can’t do that. What I’m hoping is that since people can’t go to the restaurant and everybody is missing that sense of community and all that great food, maybe this will bring them a little bit of happiness and remind them. It might make them a tad bit sad, but, hopefully, it will also make them happy. It will make them remember the good times there and, in kind, make them want to go back. They’ll feel that sense of missing that restaurant a little bit more.”

For her next project, Wexler says, “Joseph and Matteo are tossing around a few ideas, but the pandemic kind of makes it challenging. It’s a good time to brainstorm. We have one idea we’re excited about, but it’s a little challenging to move forward now.”

The new project, Wexler says, would be “very different, but still Memphis-centric.”

Courtesy of Last Bite Films.

Suhair Lauck. From the documentary ‘The Little Tea Shop.’