Matthew L.
Yelp
Stonewall Kitchen is a specialty food producer that opened in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1991. It was founded by business partners Jonathan King and Jim Scott. The company was initially started as a homemade products stall at a local farmers market. Working from a small folding table and calling themselves "Stonewall Kitchen", the stall was successful, selling all stock. The business eventually began producing vinegars, oils, pesto, jams and baked goods. The operation then branched out into selling wholesale, and by 1993 they were approached by Crate & Barrel to produce 2,500 jars of Orange Cranberry Marmalade. To increase production capacity, Stonewall Kitchen purchased and renovated an 18th-century barn in Kittery, Maine. By 2000, they moved to a larger property in nearby York. A visitors area was added to this facility in 2003. As of 2022, Stonewall Kitchen is now owned by TA Associates. The brand is now available in 42 countries and the York facility receives over 500,000 visitors annually.
My extended family and I visited the Stonewall Kitchen Company Store & Café this past summer while we were vacationing in York. The location is just gorgeous and features every Stonewall Kitchen product imaginable in the store. We loaded up on quite a few of our favorite products and even discovered some new ones; lots of free samples too! We also decided to stay for lunch in the café, which features delicious menu items made with Stonewall Kitchen products. I ordered the "Lobster Mac & Cheese" (Montebello organic torchiette pasta, fresh local lobster meat, mascarpone, fontina, asiago, cheddar, served w/ mixed greens & classic Italian dressing), my wife had the "Lobster BLT" (fresh local lobster meat, cherrywood-smoked bacon, celery, green leaf lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes, housemade basil mayonnaise, buttered brioche, served w/ dill pickle spear & housemade Maine potato chips), our older son had the "Turkey Club" (sliced roasted turkey breast, cherrywood-smoked bacon, garlic herb cheese spread, cucumbers, green leaf lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes, red pepper jelly, sliced sourdough bread), and our younger son had the "Mac & Cheese" (Montebello organic torchiette pasta, mascarpone, fontina, asiago, cheddar). Not surprisingly, everything was superb! We had a memorable experience at the Stonewall Kitchen Company Store and we hope to return in the future!