6 minute read
Business Spotlight
Jim Bryant, Dave Sweetall and Jay Harris in the place where it all started: The Brick Oven
From the ge to your tle, the surpsing story of Jim Bryt d... HONK’S PIMIENTO CHEESE
photos by Mark Mahan and courtesy
Jim Bryant:I am a native of Lexington, I grew up in Chevy Chase right across the street from Christ the King Catholic church, which may answer why I am one of 12 kids. I am the 6th born but 1st boy. Mom and dad were so excited to finally have a boy they had 6 more children. There are 7 girls, 5 boys and all born in 14 years. We lived in a small creek stone house where all 5 boys slept in one room, 3 girls in a room, the 4 oldest girls had a room, while mom and dad used the den as their bedroom. 14 people and only 2 small bathrooms made for chaos most every day.
Mom and dad were both very good cooks, and I remember being amazed at the amounts of food and different ways to prepare the food, which was always totally consumed by us. One of dad’s pans was so large, our youngest brother Johnny at the age of 2 slid it outside, filled it with water, and got in. They basically ran a restaurant just for us, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed cooking and trying new dishes today. We made a lot of pimiento cheese growing up and mom would look for someone to grate the cheese. This was one of her “little fun jobs” she was so famous for coming up with. Most of her “little fun jobs” were anything but fun so I would grin and grate the cheese if possible. Also, if you grated the cheese, you would get the first sandwich. This might be why I have always enjoyed pimiento cheese and making it – the first sandwich is the best. Over the years I’ve tweaked mom’s recipe with different cheeses and some additional ingredients, but I’ve always
grated the cheese because of the texture and creamier taste. For over 40 years now, we’ve been going to Lake Cumberland and year after year, I’ve been told to make the pimiento cheese for sandwiches on the boat. Sometimes I could get help but when I asked if anyone wanted a “little fun job,” most people ran. I think I’ve worn out mom’s favorite saying over the years Now, fast forward to last year after we opened a second Fleet Doc auto repair shop in Richmond, KY that just so happened to have a very big kitchen and gave me the wild idea to make my pimiento cheese commercially. This seemed like a no brainer except I had no true commercial kitchen experience, no commercial kitchen equipment, nothing plumbed properly, and no permit. This was a wake up call but being stubborn I decided to make a post on Facebook August 11, 2021 to see who might want to try my Pimiento Cheese, which I call Honk’s Pimiento Cheese (my name as a grandparent). In 3 hours, I had 101 orders, so other than the panic to make a massive amount of pimiento cheese, I thought this wild idea may not be so wild. The next challenge was making a massive amount and keeping the taste the same. This was the easiest challenge I had; I was able to deliver all the orders in a few days with great feedback on the taste. What happened next was a unique turn of events that created our company Honk’s Cheese, LLC I told my wife, Cathy, I wanted to turn the Richmond kitchen into a commercial kitchen and start selling pimiento cheese. Cathy was very precise with her words in letting me know we would not be going into debt to make cheese, especially right when she was retiring from her job. I totally understood every word she expressed! The next day I went to my watering hole, The Brick Oven, to have a beer with my friends. I just happened to be sitting next to Jay Harris, owner of Puccini’s Pizza Pasta in Lexington, who knows the commercial kitchen business. I told him my business idea and Cathy’s reasons why we would not be doing this. We drank another beer and Jay told me he just closed one of his pizza locations and had all the equipment I needed at a very low price. We both thought this could be
a win-win situation, so the next day I met Jay at his location to look at the equipment. Instead of just purchasing the equipment, I threw out the option of partnering up with Jay to make cheese and if it didn’t work Sometimes I could get help but when I asked if out, he would have plenty of time to sell his anyone wanted a “little fun job,” most people ran. equipment. Jay instantly agreed. I think I’ve worn out mom’s favorite saying over Now, we had a kitchen with no rent and equipment at no cost. I went back to my wife with a plan with zero out of pocket expense and she gave me a cautious blessing to proceed. Dave Sweetall, a longtime friend, was my next call to see if he would be interested in partnering with Jay and I which culminated with a meeting back at The Brick Oven over a beer and a partnership between all three of us. Dave’s expertise is advertising and promotional products, which I felt was really important to grow the name. It ended up taking 7 months to get through the plumbing issues and permiting phase before we made our first offi cial batch of Honk’s Pimiento Cheese on April 13, 2022, and began selling it at Critchfield’s Family Market April 17th. Since our first production, DeAnne Elmore with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture has been instrumental finding us Kentucky products to use in our cheese, so now we are a true Kentucky Farm Impact product. Deanne has also put us in direct contact with buyers and a co-packer to grow our production to the next level. The quality and flavor of our Pimiento Cheese is a direct result of our relationship with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Honk’s is currently being sold in many of the Liquor Barns across the state, Critchfield Family Market, Local’s Food Pub in Frankfort, Country View Market in Trenton, KY and soon to be more locations as our little venture grows. Our mission is to put a smile on the face of everyone that tastes Honk’s Pimiento Cheese. What sets us apart from our competition is our unique flavor, the quality of products we use, how it is processed, and the fact that we are the only commercial pimiento cheese with true Kentucky Farm impact, which means more than 50% of our ingredients come directly from Kentucky farms.
out, he would have plenty of time to sell his equipment. Jay instantly agreed. Now, we had a kitchen with no rent and equipment
