New Grandma’s Pantry venture gives permanent location to local food favorites
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POCATELLO — Potato chips from Atomic Potato Chip Company and popcorn from The Popcorn Shop are just some of the items already available at the new Grandma’s Pantry General Store inside Station Square.
Brian and Kimberly Zenger opened the new general store less than a week ago with hopes of bringing the many delicious food options the Gate City has to offer to one centralized location.
“We’re just happy to bring all this great food — food you would normally get at, like, the Farmers Market — to our store,” Kimberly told EastIdahoNews.com.
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The shelves of the general store are already stocked with chips, popcorn, baked goods, freeze-dried treats and, of course, jelly. All of which, Kimberly said, are made from Pocatello or surrounding cities.
In fact, the Atomic Potato Chip Company, based in Atomic City, represents the furthest-traveled products on those shelves.
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“There’s so much good stuff here, and we’re working on getting more of it,” Kimberly said.
As Brian explained, Grandma’s Pantry is in the process of securing a deal with 3M Cattle Ranch to carry meat products. Atomic Chip Company, he added, also owns an egg-laying chicken operation, so Grandma’s Pantry is hopeful eggs will be available at the general store as well.
“It’s really exciting,” Brian said.
The general store is inside Station Square, next to the Little Nook, where Grandma’s Pantry sells their sandwiches and burgers. And, Kimberly assured, the new businesses will not slow the popular Grandma’s Pantry food truck — once food truck season finally arrives.
“We’re going to be parking the food truck at Sportsman’s Warehouse when we’re not at events,” she said.
The Zengers, who organize the Food Truck Roundup — which brings dozens of food trucks to Pocatello and Chubbuck on Mondays and Wednesday through the summer — have another big operation in the works.
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Kimberly is hopeful that she and Brian will open a commercial kitchen by the end of the summer. The idea of that venture is to have a place where other food truck owners can come to prep their food in advance of events.
But she will also have needed equipment and accoutrement for making jams and jellies — something for which she is well known.
Kimberly is responsible for the vast jelly options that Grandma’s Pantry uses in their foods — and also sells separately. She entered eight of her jellies for judging at last year’s Eastern Idaho State Fair. Six of the eight placed in their respective categories.
Asked if she would be willing to host classes for jelly-making, Kimberly admitted that is among her future plans for the commercial kitchen.
“Yeah, that’s one of the things I want to do,” she said.
