WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE DO, AND WHAT INSPIRES US

In The Savory Pantry, we are in love with food. We love the stories surrounding it, the people who produce it, and embrace the time-honored traditions they maintain to bring only the best to our table and yours. We aggressively source the most extraordinary foods in the world and offer them in a comfortable, inviting atmosphere - a place where you can feel at home. We are dedicated to quality, and believe that when you demand it, you support small farmers, beekeepers, butchers, bakers and others whose life's work is producing the best products available.

Step into The Savory Pantry, and you'll find an enthusiastic team of fellow food lovers ready to share a new taste, a new recipe, a new idea. Here, every taste tells a story, and we will introduce you to the people behind all that we offer. We exist to be of service, and will do everything we can to make sure your experience with The Savory Pantry leaves you with a warm, happy feeling.

We believe that food unites us all, and that some of life's greatest moments are created around the table.

WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM

The Savory Pantry is the result of owner Keeley Ardman DeSalvo's passion for quality ingredients and an inability to find them in her home state of Arkansas.

Keeley had returned to her home in Hot Springs after years of living in Washington, D.C. to join her mother in running the family business, The Pancake Shop, the legendary breakfast eatery that still thrives today under family management. "I grew up watching my mother build a very successful business based on premium ingredients and superior service," says Keeley. "And I developed an appreciation for the way she made her customers feel as if they were guests in her own home. The food was simple, but extraordinary. Her customers would line up down the street to have 'breakfast with Ruth'. It was a destination. Thankfully, it still is."

"I was not home long before I noticed customers saying they wished they could have a breakfast like The Pancake Shop's at home." The restaurant is known not only for its plate-sized pancakes, but for a huge center-cut slice of hickory smoked ham. "Our customers kept asking where they could buy that ham!"

Keeley opened 'The Pancake Shop....TO GO,' intending to have a mail order business providing The Pancake Shop's nationwide customer base with the ham, sausage, pancake mix and apple butter they so loved in the restaurant. She set up shop in a space next door to the restaurant with only a computer and a phone. "I was surrounded by styrofoam shipping coolers," Keeley laughs. "After one holiday season, I quickly realized I should be catering to our town's year-round tourists."

"I have always been a passionate cook, and love to entertain," says Keeley. "I had become accustomed to the ease with which I could find premium ingredients on the East Coast. They simply didn't exist here. Specifically, I was desperate for good olive oil! I found myself ordering a case at a time from a market I had frequented in Washington." Her friends began asking her to tack on a few extra bottles for them. "I saw a need for a high-end specialty food store, and attended my first Fancy Food Show. The very first order I placed was through an importer who supplied the olive oil I so craved." The Pancake Shop....TO GO became The Savory Pantry, and Arkansas had its first specialty food store.

WELCOME

Just as with The Pancake Shop, The Savory Pantry has become a destination for food lovers on both coasts and every state in between. Open the door and you will find counters covered with tasty foods to sample as you browse. And, if you're shopping on-line, you will discover the same extraordinary selection of foods, the stories behind them, and ideas on how to use them.

"We would love to find a way to let you sample on-line! Until we do, we encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns. We are here to be of service."

Keeley attributes The Savory Pantry's success to a very simple business philosophy. "Nothing is too good for our customer. And, we never stop asking, "How can we be better?"