Amador County – The 35-year-old Home & Farm Kitchen Store is preheating the oven for a new location, a few doors down from its corner at Highway 49 & 88 and Main Street in downtown Jackson. “We are on our third generation,” said Janie Williams, who co-owns the Kitchen Store with her sons, Jess, 28, and Travis, 24. “Out sons are both heavily involved in the business.” It began as a butcher supply shop, opened by her parents, Monty and George Kenourgios. Janie said early on, her mother went to a supply convention in Kansas City and bought a few kitchen supplies. 3 years later, it was the Kitchen Store. Now, they carry 5,000 different kitchen items and have 300 different suppliers they order from. She bought into the company from her parents 24 years ago, and Jess and Travis bought in 5 years ago. They bought the former Pizza Factory Building, at 165 Main Street, from John Masters “a year ago and sat on it until January, not knowing what we were going to do.” Janie said now, her sons are working “7 days a week, 12 hours a day and pretty much they are the heart of all the construction over there and that’s what’s keeping it in our price range.” They have had some contractor help, but she was proud to say they have made all purchases for the new Kitchen Store at local, mostly Jackson sources. The new store will have a half-moon bar with 12 barstools. Janie said they already have a guest demonstration, Thai cooking by Helen Chin, scheduled for August. The old stained glass windows with the Kitchen Store logo, created by Cathy Wilson, are moving too, turned into oval windows by Volcano Glassworks, they will hang on either front of the building. It will have entrances on Highway 49 & 88, across from Mel & Fayes, and it will have an entrance on Main Street. The building is 2,600 square feet, up from the current building’s 900 square feet. They plan to open sometime between Mother’s Day and July 1st. Online, see www.biggestlittlekitchenstore.com, or for information, call (209) 223-0264. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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