The Woman’s Exchange of Memphis – Tea Room

Good food, and a wonderful gift shop — all for a good cause.

I had read about The Woman’s Exchange of Memphis as a good place to have lunch and it was. They serve only lunch and mine was served by a sweet old lady who I assume was one of the volunteers working there. The lunch was a good value that included dessert and a beverage and my ice tea was refilled efficiently. The tea room was a warm space to have a meal and the fact that anything I spent here would benefit women in the Memphis community.
There is also a large store inside the building selling crafts, handmade toys, infant and children’s clothing, and other items made by women. The idea behind the organization is to offer women a place to sell their crafts and on consignment as a way to become financially solvent. While I didn’t find anything in the store that I wanted to buy, I do believe in what they are doing in and for the community.

excellent restaurant with a nice garden room. the shop has some lovely items and their selection of Christmas decorations is wonderful.

Christmas hasn’t just come early to the Woman’s Exchange of Memphis. The cozy East Memphis tea room and retail shop isn’t making any pretenses of waiting until after Thanksgiving to celebrate Christmas. The holiday seems to have exploded and left a light dusting of green and red and glitter in its wake.
When I was there for lunch earlier today, there were shimmery reindeer on the mantle, a posse of life-​sized elves, and miniature trees on every table in the tea room.
The Woman’s Exchange has been around since 1885, a charity «helping others help themselves» with the proceeds from their retail shop and lunch-​only restaurant.
The tea room is geriatric fabulous. The women of the Woman’s Exchange take orders, serve food and refill glasses of iced tea for the mostly senior citizen crowd. The menu, which changes daily, has three or four plate choices — one meat plate, one vegetable plate, and one salad plate. All of the plates come with a drink and dessert (today, it was bread pudding).
I picked the chicken salad, which came with a scoop of relish-​y chicken salad, fresh fruit, pimento cheese finger sandwiches and a deviled egg. It’s total comfort food — not too spicy, not experimental at all — just the sort of food you would eat at a lunch at the home of a fabulous 1950s housewife.
The Woman’s Exchange is open for lunch Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. until 1:45 p.m. After you eat, check out their shop, which features items from select local consignors. There are a lot of children’s clothes (handmade by Woman’s Exchange seamstresses), decorative housewares, books and holiday decorations.

The Woman’s Exchange is a unique place to find special gifts and handmade items. It is part tea room, and part boutique. The best part about it is that proceeds benefit the Memphis community and is staffed by volunteers.
You will find hand sewn children clothes, smocked dresses, baptism gowns, bibs, blankets and special occasion outfits. They are beautifully handmade.
They also have unique gifts and books and it’s a great place to go for lunch. I always think this is the place for «ladies who lunch.» The tea room features different specials each day and it in a great atmosphere. I love to go here with girlfriends for lunch and to shop.

The only problem with this place in my book is it isn’t open for breakfast, dinner or on weekends. The great thing about this place is the food just tastes like it was made by a very good home cook.
I really enjoyed our meal here. It’s in a gift shop where you can buy many items for children. Again, it’s only open for lunch (11:30 to1:45, M-​F). It was very busy the day I was there. I think only 3 entrees are offered each day, but they all sound like they could be offerings from their Woman’s Exchange community cookbook (can’t remember actual title, but they do sell a cookbook).
For one price you get everything to your meal, including drink (iced tea, coffee or milk) and dessert (between $ 9-​$ 12). I ordered the vegetable plate, which was served with cornbread. I can’t recall the other entrees, but one may have had seafood in a white sauce and the other was probably a meat dish. You order and pay at the register and then are directed to a table where your drink order is taken and your food is brought out.
I think my vegetable plate had beans, greens and macaroni and cheese. I really loved the greens, probably the best I have ever had. I’m not a huge fan of greens but if I could I’d eat these every day! You don’t have a choice of the dessert, but on the day I went it was some kind of spice cake and again tasted homemade. Staff are friendly. Truly representative of delicious southern cooking. Takes you back to a different, simpler time.