Lovely Lunches at Just Divine Tea Room in Halls, TN

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Just Divine Tea Room, Halls, Tennessee, tea, restaurant

Though the atmosphere of Just Divine Tea Room is country-casual, visitors might be inspired to wear their Sunday best when stopping by for a weekday lunch. That’s because the eatery makes its home in the former Hale’s Point Baptist Church. But no matter how they dress, customers will find themselves singing the praises of the tasty, home-style fare.

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In 1998, Charlene Roberts spotted a vacant country church while checking crops on the family farm with her husband, Ronnie. They bought the 50-year-old clapboard building and moved it to its current location at Charlene’s Colony of Shoppes on Highway 88, where it joined a thriving group of quaint boutiques.

Just Divine Tea Room, tea, restaurant

After a year of renovation, the former church sanctuary was transformed into the main dining room, a cheerful space painted yellow with white wainscoting accents. The walls are covered with eye-catching décor – an antique lamp, a landscape print, blue-and-white china, a ceramic rooster – all for sale, part of Roberts’ inventory from her home furnishings store.

The Dish on Just Divine Tea Room in Halls, TN

Location: 2257 Highway 88 W. in Halls, just south of Dyersburg
Hours: Open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dessert is served until 3 p.m.
Phone: (731) 836-6113

The smaller former Sunday school rooms, called the Blue Toile and the Green and White rooms, are designed for more intimate dining. A one-room house relocated by the Roberts now serves as a larger formal dining room. Adorned in rich reds and earthy browns, it’s perfect for large groups and private parties.

The loving attention to detail in the décor carries over into the food. Just Divine’s simple menu features gourmet deli sandwiches and salads, such as the zingy mandarin orange salad with honey-pecan dressing, as well as daily specials, like the creamy pesto pasta with grilled chicken or shrimp. For a new twist on an old Southern favorite, try the orange-scented cornbread or the garlic-cheddar biscuits.

The restaurant’s fabulous chicken salad, which began as one of Charlene’s recipe improvisations, has become something of a local legend. Folks order it for sandwiches, and they take it home by the pint. No wonder; it’s made daily from fresh chicken breast (no canned meat here), red seedless grapes, chopped red and green bell peppers, almonds, and a light honey-mustard-and-mayo dressing.

Don’t miss homemade scrumptious sweets like chocolate cobbler, hot-fudge cake, apple dumplings or the decadent four-layer dessert, built on a base of pecan shortbread covered in chocolate pudding and cream-cheese whipped topping, drizzled with chocolate syrup and sprinkled with toasted pecans. It’s heavenly.

3 Comments

  1. Virginia Laux says:

    Just Divine Tearoom and Charlene’s Colony are two of my favorite places to visit when I visit my sister in Holly Spring, Ms. I live in Huntsville, AL. I wish we had a pretty, delicious place to eat in Huntsville like Just Divine.

  2. MY SISTER AND I VISITED THE SHOPS TODAY AND HAD A DELICIOUS LUNCH AT THE TEA ROOM!! WONDERFUL FOOD ~ WONDERFUL ATMOSPHERE~ WONDERFUL SERVICE!

    WE HAD THE COCONUT CAKE FOR DESSERT AND THEN I BOUGHT THE COOKBOOK AS SHE TOLD ME THE RECIPE IS IN THE BOOK, WHICH IT IS…….THE RECIPE LISTS THE COCONUT CREAM CHEESE FROSTING AND SAYS “(RECIPE FOLLOWS)” WHICH IT DOES NOT……I CANNOT FIND THE FROSTING RECIPE AND WONDER IF THERE IS ANY WAY I CAN GET IT??

    • Rachel Bertone says:

      Hi Diane,

      Thanks for your comment! We would suggest contacting Pam Davis at 731-836-6113. Hopefully she can help you find the icing recipe. Thanks!

      Rachel Bertone
      editor
      TN Home and Farm

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