Satsuma Tea Room

In 1918, Arlene Ziegler, a home economics professor in South Dakota and Mabel Ward, a former student-turned teacher, decided to dream big. They loaded up everything they could into two-seater Saxon motorcar and spent the summer traveling—camping and planning menus—as they looked for the right place to start a new life. They were in Chicago when Mabel received a telegram asking her to teach a home economics class at George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville. They decided it was a sign, and the pair headed straight for Nashville. Once here, they were denied credit from the local banks, so they opened the tea room in 1918 with the meager funds they had left. Ward and Ziegler insisted, “We w[ill] feed customers from real china, on pure linens, and . . . make the decorations an integral part of our work." Perhaps they started as a bare bones operation, but the food and the atmosphere left customers full and kept them coming back. Four decades later, Ziegler recalled, “We never really wanted to be rich, but we were tired of teaching and hoped to make as much money from the tea room as we could make from teaching.” Satsuma Tea Room remained a must-eat destination for Nashvillians for over 75 years. 

Each summer, they traveled in search of new recipes to bring back to the tea room. When they went to Europe, they brought back the mixed grill that became one of their most popular dishes. They made real Creole gumbo from a recipe picked up in New Orleans and “old spoon bread” from a recipe found in Virginia. Louise Davis, columnist for the Tennessean, wrote in 1962, “The tremendous business they built up. . . not only established them as two of the city’s shrewdest money-makers; it has also proved their classroom theory of what it takes to succeed: good food, attractively served.” Ziegler was especially proud of her dessert collection and published several cookbooks before her death in 1981. Mabel Ward passed away two years later. Today, Satsuma Tea Room is called 417 Union—the interior still features a historic theme—a testament to Ward and Ziegler. 

Walk across Arcade Alley directly next to 417 Union. Once you have reached the historic Arcade, pause, and turn RIGHT. At the exit of the Arcade on Fifth Avenue North, cross and turn LEFT. You will see a historic marker in honor of Sarah Estell on your right.