 It’s a weekday morning, and Le Chardon Tearoom at 37 W. Broad St. in Hopewell is filled with the sounds of Russian violin and accordion. Artists in smocks are coming and going, and proprietor Carol Boyle offers me a cup of tea and a scone.
Lisa Weil of Gloria Nilson Realtors has brought me here to see the building, which is for sale. It sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime: to own a teashop without the day-to-day responsibility.
Nestled between Mahbubeh’s Antiques and Ruth Morpeth Contemporary Gallery, the 100-year-old Victorian building has Le Chardon on the first floor, along with Highland Studio, where adult students are studying painting with Karen McLean; a two-room office in the back; and a three-bedroom apartment upstairs. At press time, the office was vacant and the apartment was rented.
“It’s an ideal place to live and work,” says Ms. Weil. “More people want to live in urban settings and work just seconds from home.” Over the course of years, a dress shop, a realtor, an interior decorating company and an imported Hungarian porcelain shop have found a home in this building, according to Ms. Weil. In recent times it became Failte, a coffee shop that moved down the street and changed its name to Boro Bean. A year ago, Le Chardon opened for business.
 Ms. Boyle, who lives in Princeton, is originally from Scotland and came to the U.S. in 1985. “It was always a dream to open a tea shop,” says Ms. Boyle, who earned a doctorate in French literature at Rutgers. “When this property became available, and it was already zoned commercial, everything fell into place.” Her friend Ms. McLean, as it happened, was also seeking a new spot for Highland Studio.
Both women are hoping the prospective buyer will allow them to continue running their businesses here.
Shelves in niches are lined with English tea sets, and Ms. Boyle has a line of signature dishes. “Le Chardon means thistle, and thistle is the national emblem of Scotland,” says Ms. Boyle, who has also lived in French-speaking Belgium. “I wanted the tearoom to be British, and offer light fare.”
Afternoon tea is served beginning at noon, and is a big draw, says Ms. Boyle. Tea sandwiches, scones, cake, quiche, salad, soups, pot pies and croque-monsieurs are all made in house.
There are more than 40 teas from Harney & Sons and Taylors of Harrogate. Madeleine Graham, Ms. Boyle’s daughter, is the tea buyer, and hopes to soon be selling teas in the adjacent parlor. “We concentrate on black teas but also have green, white and herbal teas,” says Ms. Graham, who painted the colorful oil paintings and delicate watercolors on the walls of the tearoom. “It’s from a series on dining out in Princeton,” says the artist, who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. The watercolor paintings are of demitasse sets and tea ware.
Tables are set with lavender cloths to match the walls and fresh flowers in vases. There is a stone fireplace and a large bay window, used for displays during the dress shop era, that fills the space with morning light.
“This is a great location for my students, who come from Princeton, Pennington and West Windsor,” says Ms. McLean, who has had her studio in four different Hopewell locations before setting up at 37 West Broad. “It’s a great location, it has good light, and it’s accessible.”
Outside we walk through a large parking lot to a small backyard with a creek running behind it.
“It’s a terrific investment opportunity,” says Ms. Weil. “Hopewell is a great town with eateries and shops. It’s a destination place, and this property participates in that.”
Price: $699,000; Taxes: $13,218
Realtor: Gloria Nilson; Agent: Lisa Weil
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