Have tearoom, will travel

One rainy afternoon a little more than a year ago, Paula Richards spotted a small derelict trailer while driving through north Spokane.

“It was sitting in someone’s backyard,” she says, “and looked like it had been there forever.”

Richards, owner of The Vintage Truffle on the corner of Nora Avenue and Ruby Street, had been searching for an older travel trailer to use as a mobile tearoom.

“There was a $250 sign on it,” she recalls. “I offered him $175, and he took it.”

Once the 9-foot “canned ham” trailer was delivered, Richards took a good look inside the 1954 Terco and realized she had a lot of work to do.

“The original owner was a hunter who passed it along to his nephew who didn’t use it,” says Richards, “so it sat idle for years. It was in pretty rough shape and basically I had to gut it.”

Over the next month Richards ripped out the worn brown shag carpet, tossed the cushions and curtains, and scrubbed and disinfected everything.

She made repairs to the cabinets and walls, painted the entire interior off-white and then hung period wallpaper.

The white cupboards were accented with flower appliqués and artwork. The windows were framed in sheer organza curtains, and a large sofa area was finished with pink and white pillows.

Richards added a small dining table, two wicker chairs, vintage linens and collectible tableware.

The exterior was professionally painted gold, and an artist applied fleur-de-lis patterns above each window.

“I call her ‘The Golden Girl,’” says Richards, “because she turns heads wherever we go.”

Richards’ Golden Girl sits just outside The Vintage Truffle and is available for French tea parties on site or on location.

She has pulled her mobile tea trailer to fundraisers, birthday parties and backyard picnics.

Richards specializes in French-inspired tea parties that vary between five and eight courses.

“A French tea party is larger and more meal-like than an English tea,” says Richards, who previously owned Paula’s European Pastries Bakery on north Ash Street.

“Fall is a great time for breakfast, afternoon and sunset teas,” says Richards.