The Pantry

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Photo by Amanda Roussel.

0213 The Pantry

Deborah Stone (center), daughter Alexandra Stone (left) and Lee Shipp (right) serve farm-fresh foods from the new The Pantry location in Crestline.

Deborah Stone knows what her customers crave. As owner of The Pantry in Crestline Village, she wants to feed them good food and make them happy, with everything from her signature goat cheeses and raw juices to micro-green topped salads.

Many diners will recognize her familiar logo from products they purchase at the Piggly Wiggly or Whole Foods Market. Jars of goat cheese with amped-up flavors like rose petal or pink peppercorn, lavender or French herbs are served at dinner parties all over town. Still other guests know Stone’s food from her Cahaba Heights storefront, which now serves as the processing kitchen for this new outpost.

“We loved that location but found we outgrew it quickly,” Stone said. “Taking an informal poll of our client base, we realized that about 75 percent of them come from Mountain Brook.”

Stone always knew she wanted to have a location in this area, and it was one of her regulars, Shannon Thomas, who let her know about the availability of the Crestline Village location.

The larger location will also let Stone bring her farm to town. At her Harpersville property, she grows many of the produce items served at The Pantry. By removing the front parking area and amending the back of the property on Dexter Avenue, she will be able to install a few raised beds. Ellen Riley will help develop these gardens as well as oversee a small farmers market at The Pantry.

“There will be a garden here just like at the farm,” she said. “We’ll have a little walking trail to the back to the farmers market, too. I’ve always said if I can’t get my friends to the farm, I need to bring the farm to my friends. This place lets me do just that.”

Stone believes there are great health benefits derived from eating food in a raw state the majority of the time.

“The more raw foods that you consume, the healthier your digestive tract is. It’s all about the enzymes and the enzyme connection. Heating food to just under 118 degrees F keeps those enzymes alive,” she said.

Some items on the menu are 100 percent raw while others might be 50 percent, like the spaghetti. “We make our raw spaghetti by putting fresh squash and zucchini through a spiraler, so it makes noodles out of the fresh, raw veggies. Then we mix up our sauce, which is just tomatoes, basil and different herbs. If we add cheese, then it is not 100 percent raw.”

Carnivores need not shy away from The Pantry; there is plenty here for the meat lovers.

“I still like chicken and dumplings, and homemade biscuits, but those things we just don’t eat as often,” Stone noted. “What we talk about here is balance.”

In addition to dining in, customers will be able to enjoy The Pantry in other ways. You can stop in and grab a cup of local Primavera coffee and a house-made scone to-go. Or maybe you’d prefer a farm-fresh parfait, made with goat’s milk yogurt and seasonal fruit. Coolers will be filled with casseroles and soups to enjoy at home or share with friends. Still other coolers will feature gallons of fresh cow’s milk and quarts of goat’s milk, fresh chicken and duck eggs, too.

But one of the things the folks at The Pantry do best is entertain. They make it look effortless and want you to have the same success. Manager Lance Horton said that they encourage guests to bring in their own serving pieces for one-of-a-kind catering orders.

“You can drop off your serving pieces, give us a budget, discuss wine pairings, and we’ll take it from there!” she said.

Horton’s passion for the venture, as well as his industry knowledge, is immediately evident in what he says: “Having the farm down in Harpersville, we can plant, harvest, prepare and sell everything fresh.”

Christiana Roussel is a Southern food and lifestyle writer headquartered in Crestline. When not attending biscuit festivals or bourbon tastings, four chickens, three dogs, two children, and one husband keep her busy. Follow her at Facebook.com/ChristianasKitchen.