Kermit's Brainstorm

     A little more than 2 decades ago Kermit Carpenter was working as an accountant for a small restaurant in Key West.  To supplement his income he also sold smoothies from a cart.  That is when he had a brainstorm to go into business for himself.  It seemed only natural to capitalize on the fame of the Key West key lime fruit.  So he and his sister founded Kermit's Key Lime Shoppe.

     The best known of their products is the key lime pie, created on the island in the 19th Century.  Stories vary on who can take credit for its creation.  Some claim that it was salvage master William Curry's "Aunt Sally" while others acknowledge that it was probably the genius of sponge fishermen who would be onboard ship for lengthy periods of time, taking along with them non-perishable items like the sweetened condensed milk, eggs and key lime juice used to make the pie that didn't need to be baked.  The reaction between the milk and the acidic lime juice would naturally thicken the mixture in the pastry shell.


     But Kermit didn't stop there.  Today they sell over a dozen other key lime related items at their 2 Key West locations ranging from candy to jellies, salsas and chutneys, cookies and snacks, to bath and body oils, tea, seasonings, and even olive oil.  In addition to the two stores on the island they have a major 10,000 square foot production facility located in DeLand in central Florida.  That is also where they handle Internet sales that are shipped worldwide.

     And when visiting their store one morning I met Kermit and in our conversation discovered that as a youth he visited relatives in Lafayette Hill, PA!