The Little Slice of England in Kingston Springs, Tennessee

The Yorkshire Deli sign made of broken teacups and pots, Bree Fabbie  

Rain pours over a small building, mismatched tables and Adirondack chairs right off U.S. 70 in Kingston Springs, Tennessee.  

Two tin silos sit adjacent to the building and the sound of rain bounces off them mixing with instrumental jazz music emanating from the patio behind.  

On the covered patio, surrounded by tables covered with floral printed tablecloths, vases of fresh flowers and tea sets, sit two ladies in colorful fleece pullovers - Lesley Mortimer- Wallace and Genevieve Neace - owners of the Yorkshire Deli.  

“This is a very traditional British type day, the drizzle and the chill in the air,” said Lesley in a subtle English accent.  

The two friends opened the English style deli in 2022, but their friendship ignited long before then.  

Lesley and Genevieve first met while working on Guns n’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy” tour in 2010 and traveled the world together. 

The women eagerly talk over each other and giggle as they tell their story of rekindling their friendship years post-tour and opening the deli. 

In 2020, Genevieve was living in Kentucky, waiting to see what the future would hold.  Lesley was in Tennessee, trying to figure out what to do with the land she purchased while working on Justin Bieber’s tour in 2016.  

“When I bought this property, it was a field with hay wheels, small town vibes, like this was a hay farm,” Lesly said. 

She had grandiose dreams about what she wanted the land to be but wasn’t sure how to make them come to life.  

 “Just anything was possible in my brain, the music industry can do a number on you. I have this confidence that like your average girl just doesn’t have,”  she said.  

As Facebook friends, the two would catch up from time to time, but one chat in 2020 changed their lives. 

Lesley messaged Genevieve, asking her to move closer to help start a farm-to-table deli.  

“I didn’t even hesitate because nothing else was going on,” said Genevieve. “I packed up and moved to Nashville, fully knowing we weren’t going to making any money, but I believed in the dream.”  

Lesley, from England originally, wanted to transform her land into a slice of Europe in rural Tennessee. She knew she needed help, and Genevieve would be the perfect fit after worldly travels of her own.

“My dream for this whole place was something more that you find in Europe, like there’s a garden center, but there’s also somewhere that you can eat. It’s like a whole day trip,” said Lesley. 

They banter like sisters as they bounce back and forth telling their perspectives of the place they have spent so much time creating.  

Marley, a teenager with bleach blonde wavy hair and sporting an apron, interrupts with a fresh pot of tea.  

“Raspberry and rose. You’re going to want to let that seep for five minutes. Here’s some honey with it. You guys enjoy,” said Marley.  

One of the business aspects Lesley and Genevieve take pride in is the girls they train and work with. 

“These are our deli babes, that’s what we call them. We love them so much that they then love what they’re doing and that in turn makes it so magical,” said Genevieve. “Most of our girls this is like their first job and now I would trust them to take them on the road and have full trust they would make everything just as perfect as we would.” 

The magical atmosphere is not just keeping the deli babes there, but the loyal customers as well.  

Ron Fortenberry lives close to the deli and watched Lesley and Genevieve build it from the ground up. He now stops by almost every week as a loved regular.  

“Everywhere you turn is something unique, from the artwork to the chickens. It’s a very relaxing place,” said Fortenberry.  

He enjoys visiting the deli for bangers, onion and cheese pasties and scones.   “Supporting local is something I always strive to do. This business is someone's dream, and they have worked hard to build it. These are my neighbors and friends, so what a perfect thing to support,” Fortenberry said.  

Fortenberry is not the only person who has become a loyal fan of the deli.  

“When the British find out we’ve got authentic bacon, sausage imported from England and that we’re doing the pasties and meat pies and the sausage rolls and all the things, they will literally drive hours, out of state. As would I,” said Lesley.  

They pay big bucks to get the “real British thing” and are proud to source authentic ingredients and teas to serve to visitors.  

Lesley turns the tea pot on the table and flashes the tag. 

“The Whittard Chelsea here, this is a complete ordeal. It takes so long to get here, it’s so expensive, but it’s that next level of the tea experience,” she said.  

Lesley started with a vision and now people travel from hours away because of a picture or video they saw online, because they want to experience an authentic afternoon tea or enjoy a British meal you can’t get anywhere else.  

“I can say this with 100%, we pored ourselves, like way over the top, into making everything so cute. We didn’t think that would translate to that Instagram, Tik-Tok, picture moment. And we absolutely did not think that would be actually our main way of marketing,” said Lesley. 

But it is, which is why they are booked and busy even on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  

While running a deli isn’t exactly like the music industry they once knew, it is a different kind of busy and in a way reminds them of their days on the road.  

“Now on nice days, there’ll be a line at the gate, and it feels like a festival. You literally go open the gate and all these people just come, and the line is out the door. People who come are coming to get that like photo moment and they’re getting dressed up, so it feels very much like an event,” said Genevieve.  

The only difference is that it's an event that happens every week, Friday through Sunday. 

For the past three years the deli has been a work in progress, yet the two couldn’t imagine it any other way.  

“It’s hard for me to think about letting go. I think that’s what makes it so special, is that Gene and I are still putting our hands on absolutely everything that goes out. And if we’re not putting our hands on it, we can see it and we’ll be like ‘let’s change that cup’ and now our girls have that sense of pride, too,” said Lesley.  

Their motto throughout this journey has been “if you build it, they will come.” And they’ve come.

“I love when we have repeat customers, I love getting to build that rapport with them. I love seeing the new people come in, but really what we’ve done, we’ve recreated the comradeship of the music industry because that’s all we know,” Lesley said.

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This article was written by Bree Fabbie