About the Store
CHESTER, NEW JERSEY
Sally Lunns Chester, was set up in 1991. Against all the odds, economics, location at the rear of the main street, acceptance in a sleepy town and bureaucracy, the shoppe has thrived and made the slow end of the town the thriving, busy end! Chester is known throughout New Jersey for it’s charm, quaint little craft and antique stores that occupy the historic buildings that line Main Street and the surrounding streets.
Main Street used to be lined with magnificent trees, the buildings that now house the delightful array of stores, were dwellings and Inns. At one time there were more Inns and Taverns in Chester than decency would allow, there were grand houses and mines…..lots of them!
The building that houses Sally Lunns was an icehouse. Huge chunks of ice were carved out of Silver Springs Lake in Flanders, taken by horse and carriage to Chester and stored in the icehouse. Lined with bales of straw the ice would keep for months, until it was broken up and shipped by rail, from Chester to New York, to be used in the Hotels, Restaurants and cold houses.
Luckily for Chester and Sally Lunns a man with a mission, Donald Duryea has systematically purchased building after building and renovated them, remembering the good old times and keeping Chester charming, historic and thriving.
Chester has been a favourite of tourists and day travelers for years, it’s not so sleepy now but it’s still a real treat! People have spread the word and they come from all over to visit with us, sample our scrumptious foods and revel in times gone past. We sell more fine porcelain tea items than anyone in the US. Little London, as we call it, is filled with antique furniture, linens, prints and paintings, books on tea, the art of taking tea, the history of tea and tea time recipes, tea cards, for all occasions, lamps, silver and silver plate and of course the unusual curiosities that make Sally Lunns so different!
The Early Years | The Origins of the Name | About the Store | About the Food