Cahill Block/Mel’s Tea Room

Cahill Block/Mel’s Tea Room
17 Bridge Street, Sackville 
CAHILL BLOCK/MEL’S TEA ROOM
1913
Following the fire of 1912, this structure was built by James A. Hicks for Charles Walter Cahill and became known as the “Cahill Block.” Cahill had a dry goods store, while the second floor, accessed by an interior stairway, housed the Cahill Millinery Parlours.Melbourne Goodwin, owner of Mel’s Tea Room which first opened its doors in 1919, purchased the Cahill Block in 1944 and relocated the Tea Room to this location in 1945.

The Cahill Block is a good example of the Main Street Commercial style of architecture from the early 20th century. It was originally an almost identical twin to the adjacent Fawcett Block. The two-storey building is constructed of brick and local stone and features large display windows and a recessed doorway. The renovations which took place in the 1940s as a result of the relocation of Mel’s Tea Room included the installation of a neon sign and the green Carrera glass. An entrance to the second floor allowed for an Art Moderne rehabilitation of that space while respecting the original architecture.
This site is listed in the Canadian Register of Historic Places ; for fuller details see Mel’s Tea Room

This building is within the Town of Sackville Municipal Heritage Conservation Area A.

Perkin, Wray, ” ‘New’ Mel’s to maintain old-school feel,” Sackville Tribune-Post, 1 August 2012, p.5.

Tantramar Heritage Trust | Historic Sites