Harleston pair transform Yakety Yak into new modernised tea room

A pair of Harleston mums have taken over their town’s best-known tea room and given it a makeover.

On Tuesday, Sue Kuzmic, 51, and Chris Nooney, 65, opened the new-look Harleston Tea Room, formerly known as Yakety Yak Tearoom, in Bullock Fair Close.

Beyond the slick new décor, the tea room now boasts a revamped menu, a selection of premium coffees and a takeaway service.

Mrs Kuzmic, who also owns Harleston giftshop Enchanted Corner, in The Thoroughfare, said the move had been a dream of theirs for some time.

“Chris makes a lot of cakes – she’s a really good baker – and we were talking one day and said it would be really lovely to have our own tea room.

“It’s something Chris had always dreamed of – she personally saw it as one of her goals in life.

“The previous owners were retiring and we thought it was an exciting opportunity to do something different.”

The venue might have a sleeker, more modernised look, but it will rely on locally sourced food, with produce coming from Diss-based Health & Home Bake and D A Browne & Son butchers.

“It’s very different,” added Mrs Kuzmic. “We wanted a much more modern take on a tea room.

“We wanted to bring it up to date and offer proper coffee and make it much more user friendly for people wanting takeaway.”

Mrs Kuzmic said there had been some apprehensions about starting a new business amidst a growing cost of living crisis, but the success of the opening day had been very promising.

“It’s always scary and always a gamble, particularly at the moment,” she said.

“Our bills are going up and so are everyone else’s, but people still want to go out, enjoy a cup of tea and some cake and have a chat with their friends.

“You need a little local place that’s warm and welcoming – a lot of people haven’t been out for a long time, so it’s lovely for them to make those connections again.”