A Kitchenarium on the Move
By Adam York
Let’s open a kitchen store in the middle of a pandemic! Says no one ever, right?
Well, believe it or not, those words were uttered last summer when local business owners Paul and Chrissy Jensen of The Dotted Lime and Kathryn and Adam York of Smith & York Co. decided to join forces and bring to life a local kitchen shop experience in downtown Columbia, Tennessee—Lime & Loaf, a chef-curated kitchenarium for people who love to cook (or just want to look like they know).
And while the tiny store’s opening inside Smith & York Co. might have appeared ill-timed, no one could have imagined the response that was received throughout the past year, as Lime & Loaf experienced tremendous growth and praise from near and far, leading to an expansion and new location in 2021.
A Collaboration of Restaurant and Retail
Both The Dotted Lime and Smith & York Co. have built successful standalone businesses, each with their own unique offerings and dedicated followers. So, how did these two worlds collide? Well, as each business became frequent patrons of the other, the four business owners soon learned that their dreams and goals for growing their businesses had a common thread: The Dotted Lime’s chef-inspired, wholesome foods and culinary expertise and Smith & York Co.’s passion for entertaining guests with well-curated dining and tabletop accessories.
“We had always envisioned opening a kitchen store concept, and we quickly realized in the late spring of 2020 that cooking, eating out, and spending more time at home was starting to take on a new form,” says Paul Jensen. As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic led to business shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, the Jensens witnessed changes to normal business models firsthand. Chrissy Jensen explains, “As people were staying at home with more time on their hands for cooking and baking, we realized there was a need for local access to high-quality chef’s knives, baking tools and accessories, and hard-to-find items.” These observations helped affirm that a void could be filled locally with the addition of a retail shop focused on kitchen essentials and gadgets.
As the Jensens observed the growth and success happening on the downtown square at Smith & York Co., they were led to share their kitchen retail vision with the Yorks, who just happened to have an unused dedicated space inside their shop and were playing with ideas on how to best utilize it. “We were looking to launch a new retail concept of our own, and the timing was perfect to come alongside Paul and Chrissy with this unique partnership. We never imagined how this pop-up style shop within our store would meet so many needs–especially in a year when in-person shopping looked so different.” says Kathryn York. But, Smith & York Co.’s location and the unusual time in history proved to be the perfect incubation period for the tiny kitchenarium.
