Thomas Sheridan wants Kensington residents to know he’s “not phony.”
The certified olive oil sommelier and balsamic analyst will soon be the neighborhood’s one-stop shop for produce, pantry staples, fresh doughnuts, coffee, and Italian imported, organic, cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil.
He’s opening a grocery store on Kensington Avenue near Tioga Street with the community and small, local businesses in mind. The storefront will also be a bakery and a shared commercial kitchen.
“We are from the neighborhood, we know the neighborhood, and represent the neighborhood with pride,” said Sheridan, who was born and raised in Kensington.
Sheridan will sell his company’s products, including olive oils, balsamic vinegars, relishes, pasta, pickles, and more. He plans to keep prices affordable and EBT-accessible.
The Kensington Food Company, a Kensington-based gourmet food importer and wholesaler, sells, packages, and distributes products from around the world. Their flagship product is named after Kensington and is called “King Kenzo extra-virgin olive oil.”
Sheridan has established himself as an importer and wholesaler — now distributing to 200 stores nationwide and about 30 stores and restaurants in Philadelphia. In 2020, he started in retail, selling his own products at farmers markets across Philadelphia. In 2022, he opened a storefront in Reading Terminal Market. The business has been working and growing, according to Sheridan.
Once he started making a solid profit, he felt it was time to start making a difference where he’s from.
“I felt like if I'm going to love the neighborhood, name myself after the neighborhood, I should probably, now that I'm in a position to, start helping the neighborhood,” Sheridan said.
He turned to the Kensington Corridor Trust (KCT), a nonprofit that acquires and maintains affordable commercial properties. KCT uses a model that centers community input with the goal of attracting non-extractive businesses to the corridor.
KCT proposed that Sheridan lease one of their properties, the Kensington and Tioga location, as a grocery store and commercial kitchen.
Residents have wanted the organization to attract a grocery store for years, according to Jasmin Velez, KCT’s development and communications coordinator.
Velez conducts months long community engagement processes to collect feedback on business proposals. She said there’s a “food apartheid” in Kensington — a “systemic disinvestment in communities of color” that has led to inequitable access to fresh and healthy food.
So Sheridan was an ideal candidate.
“People were super excited, because, quite frankly, there's really not a lot of places where people can walk to and pick up groceries. Especially if you don't have a car,” Velez said.
For those wondering what the store will be like, imagine a smaller Riverwards grocery store, Sheridan said. The retail section will have fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, bread, canned goods, bread – the essentials.
But 90% of the store will sell Kensington Food Company’s products, like black garlic infused balsamic, spicy parmesan and garlic infused olive oil, hot pepper relish, and Italian barrel-aged apple cider vinegar, with prices “as low as they possibly can be for the community,” according to Sheridan. His prices at Reading Terminal Market are higher, meant for tourists and center-city clientele.
“I think we're bringing products to the community that they otherwise would have never been introduced to, or seen, or tasted, or had the opportunity to purchase. And not only at an affordable price, but also using their EBT,” he said.
Out of the storefront, they will also serve coffee, freshly baked bagels, fresh bread, and the fresh doughnuts that they will make in-house with a commercial doughnut machine.
The second floor will house 12 to 15 operating businesses renting a shared commercial kitchen. Sheridan, who is leasing the building from KCT, said he will keep the rent affordable for everyone. The cost will be about 50% to 60% less than the average commercial kitchens in Philadelphia.
The commercial kitchen is “not a profit-making venture” for Sheridan.
“I don’t want to get rich off of it. I want to help,” he said.
Sheridan’s dream is to house local businesses and foster development in the neighborhood. He wants to support “struggling small beginning-stage food companies who are just at a point where they want to emerge, but they're hitting a barrier if they don't have the commercial kitchen,” he said.
Each business will also have a responsibility to the neighborhood.
Part of the rental agreement will have a “sustainability clause” meaning, the businesses will have to agree to donate any extra or leftover food ingredients, that they don’t plan to use, to the grocery store. Those donations will be for the neighborhood, free for anyone to take.
Velez said Sheridan, someone who is committed to Kensington, who already runs a successful business in the neighborhood, is ready to expand, was a rare find for KCT. She also happens to love his products, including the raspberry jalapeño jam that he donated to a KCT clothing swap last summer.
“Kensington deserves businesses that care about the community ... and genuinely want to be part of the fabric of this community,” Velez said. “And so it’s not every day someone like Tom is coming along.”
Sheridan’s mother, Lucia DiMascia, a Kensington resident, works at the store in the Reading Terminal Market.
“She constantly gets people at the market who say, ‘I wouldn't buy my olive oil from Kensington... are you seeing what's going on down there,” Sheridan said.
To that, Sheridan says, “Grow up and educate yourself. Then, maybe, once you’re educated we can discuss olive oil sourcing.”
Sheridan is anticipating opening by April 2025.
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