Owning her own brand— Lighthouse Keeper’s— is her jam
Driving down Cape Cod’s Route 6A through Yarmouthport is worth the jaunt. Homes built in the late 1700s and early 1800s once owned by wealthy sea captains line the scenic road through the mid-Cape village. Today, many have been restored and are quaint inns and shops. If you stumble upon the Lighthouse Keeper’s Pantry, a store with a cozy cafe in a former home, stop in. Don’t mind the chickens prancing around in the back. They are responsible for the fresh eggs inside. There are beehives, too.
Kelly O’Connell, 36, opened the place two years ago, a half-mile from her childhood home. She spent 16 years in New York City, studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and then focused on product development for Martha Stewart, The Pioneer Woman, QVC, and others. The COVID pandemic brought her back to the Cape, where she worked remotely.
“I started making jams for my dad and opened up a stand in front of my house on 6A as a hobby,” says O’Connell. Word spread, and friends and neighbors clamored for her goods. The hobby led to her new career and her own brand, Lighthouse Keeper’s, a line of smallbatch jams, hot sauces, dressings, condiments, honey, and more. The products are inspired by her roots on Cape Cod and her love for Sandy Neck Beach, a short boat ride from Barnstable Harbor. The lighthouse on Sandy Neck spurred an idea. She spun a tale about the lightkeeper living in the old lighthouse. She imagined how he sourced his food, scavenged for peach plums, picking blueberries, and cranberries. Using these ingredients for inspiration, she created recipes and designed a label featuring an image of an old pipe-smoking sailor.
The products are sold at her store and are ingredients used in the muffins, scones, and other pastries, salads, and sandwiches on the café's menu. On any given day, you might find O’Connell cleaning out the coops where the chickens lay their eggs, or tending to the bees that produce the honey. “I’m so lucky I can do this every day,” she says.
Lighthouse Keeper’s products are also available at EBO & Co Grocery, 110 Meridian St., East Boston; Cardullo’s Gourmet Shoppe, 6 Brattle St., Cambridge, 617-491-8888; Cork & Board, 1207 Centre St., Newton Centre, 413272-6796; and others, and at lighthousekeeperspantry.com.