Wednesday, December 23, 2020

New Store

It takes courage to open a new retail store in the middle of a pandemic. I met one such couple today and am happy to report that both they and their wares are wonderful. We need to celebrate and support local businesses.

My friend Jaime alerted me to a new hot sauce store so I rode my motorcycle to Sayville today to check it out. The store, "Sayville 'N Spice," opened last month and it's terrific. I met the owners, Matthew and Lauri; they're lovely people. Matthew is an architect and has an office upstairs in the same building.
While I was initially attracted to the 220 varieties of hot sauces, I was utterly enraptured by the other side of the store which displays 100 big jars of fresh spices. Among them are interesting, exotic seasonings like black lava salt, smoked peppercorns and tandoori spice masala. Ingredients like these make everyone's cooking better; plus, they're fun to play with. Best of all, the store sells its spices in any quantity you want -- including small amounts like one ounce so you can experiment without committing to a large jar.
I picked up some za'atar and dukkah which are Middle Eastern blends that taste great when sprinkled on bread with olive oil. I also replenished my supply of smoked paprika which adds flavor to any sauce. I also discovered another neat product: a portable fire log that starts easily, can by carried by an attached rope-handle and is made from pure Minnesotan wood. I bought one to try in my backyard.
The store is in a classic building that's a local landmark. Matthew renovated historic Thornhill’s Pharmacy on Main Street into beautiful new retail space. (Thornhill's Pharmacy existed for over a century, from 1896 to 2010.) Cleverly, Matthew kept Thornhill's colorful outdoor sign. Everyone in town recognizes the sign from its century of use so retaining it adds to the new store's charm. This is the type of effort that keeps small downtowns alive and vibrant.
Go visit!



10 comments:

  1. Mmmm. Sounds like there are some delicious meals in your future. I'm going to ogle their site right now.

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  2. Lol, you and your hot sauce, Ally! I love that you've found and are promoting a local business - best of luck to them!

    Merry Christmas, my dear friend. Big hugs!
    Sheila

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  3. So great you're supporting local business by checking out and sharing about this new hot sauce store. So nice you met the owners too. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas!

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  4. Best of luck to them! And just wanna say Merry Christmas:)

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  5. This sounds AMAZING!

    Totally off topic. My mom used to work for a spice company. She wore her leather jacket every day to work, and it used to smell like spices. I miss that so much!

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    1. Cool! My favorite spice store in the country is Penzey's. Sadly they closed their stores here in New York. Now I have to travel to Connecticut to visit one.

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  6. The store sounds wonderful! I love herbs and spices! Smoked paprika is amazing- I always put it in my lentil and carrot soup now and also I sprinkle it on sweet potato fries I make too. It's so yummy! Nice to discover new stores. Do they allow you to take your own containers?

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  7. That's awesome, Ally. I'm a huge proponent of supporting small and/or local businesses as often as I/we possibly can, too.

    It looks like you've stumbled upon quite the hot commodity of a shop there!

    ... I'll see myself out now. ๐Ÿ˜‚

    Autumn Zenith ๐Ÿงก Witchcrafted Life

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