The Dawn Trader Spice and Tea Shop

July 4th weekend had a lot going on. Circus. Parade. Fry Cart.

But there was a new shop that opened in town, and all of you know exactly which one.

The Dawn Trader Spice and Tea Shop

William “Bill” Timmons and wife, Rebecca embarked on this adventure a year ago when they both retired.

Bill did 30 years as the VP of Sales for the East Bay Fish Processing Plant, and Rebecca taught history at East Bay High for fourteen years. We all had her history classes, and they were actually interesting!

“This is us.” Bill looks around his shop and smiles. “This is who we are.”

We all know how much the Timmons love going to the renaissance fairs, and their love for medieval history, so yeah. This fits them.

“Honestly? Finch deserves a lot of the credit for how this place turned out.” Bill told me on Saturday, opening day. “It started when I asked him near the beginning to help get a support beam placed.” Mr Timmons pointed at his beloved Grog, the dragon that hangs overhead with eyes and nostrils glowing.

“He took one look at where we were going to put it, shook his head, and lowered it six inches, and what do you know, he was right! He just somehow knew how it should feel.” Mrs. Timmons added. “From the color of the barrels to the height of the shelving, he just knew.”

Walking into the Dawn Trader felt like going through a portal, and Bill and Rebecca fit in with their period linen and leather. What struck me was that both were completely at ease in the shop they’d built.

“Yeah, Finch somehow knew what the right look was, and helped us get it right.”

My mom, who came with me to check out the shop just stood there looking around. “I feel at home here.”

I’m still not sure what she meant.

Todd and his mom stopped in a few minutes later. Janet made a comment that “everything was right.” Todd and I mixed several spices, and plan to use them the next time Finch grills fish at Dockside.

When I asked Finch about the shop build, he shook his head and just said, “Intuition.”

– Anna

 

July 6