Tuesday, 2 April 2013

The World of Key West Key Lime

By Kermit Carpenter


The world of "All Things Key Lime." was witnessing a busy weekend. Kermit's pride was due to his participation in 3 different events on a weekend full of fun. The first thing was that Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe was the proud sponsor of Scott Free Racing. Right outside Kermit's front door who won the third place in the 2012 World Championships in spite of ending the day early due to spinning out their boat. Hats off to Stephen and Steve!

After that, they went to Disappearing Island in Ponce Inlet, FL, where they participated in activities like kayak and paddleboard races for "Paddle Out Poverty," an event which supported the organization Entrust; the organization helps support emerging entrepreneurs in poorer nations improve their economic status. Kermit's products were available at the barbecue, to the delight of all, and one lucky attendee at the silent auction even won a basket full of Kermit's products! Word is that Entrust will be bringing the fun back for another event this April.

Saturday, November 10th was the day of the Volusia County Fair and Youth Expo. It marked the First Annual Kermit's Key Lime Pie Eating Contest. It was thrilling for everybody involved. The rules were very easy to follow. The winner would be the first person to finish the pie. Also, participants couldn't use their hands.

More than two decades ago, Kermit Carpenter started offering smoothies at a small stand he opened in front of Key West's Papa's Restaurant when he served as its bookkeeper. Kermit needed to begin something new when the head chef took off, so with sister Anita and brother-in-law John he decided on a high quality business that was indigenous to Key West. His Key West Key Lime Pie Shoppe opened to serve gourmet treats and Key Lime items.

When the store first became available, the price of the location was appealing, but there was one issue with that particular location on the corner of Elizabeth and Greene. It was directly across the street from a sewage station. It also happened to be on the bight, the waterfront area which the city of Key West had some big plans for. As long as Kermit, Anita, and John could stick out the first few years they knew the location would turn out to be great.

Kermit and Anita drove to Maryland to visit their parents. The drive was long, so they took the opportunity to think of a list of things that would contain Key Lime. This list would prove useful when expanding Kermit's Key Lime product line.

By 2003, Kermit's was becoming very successful. John joined as Managing Director after returning from the military, as Kermit's customer base expanded and manufacturing costs lowered, the DeLand production facility and showroom was created. This well-run 10,000 square foot facility consists of a shop, warehouse and production kitchen and is a mainstay of Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe, as it supports the in-store and website business and customers from there.

It was in 2011 when Kermit had the privilege of making a claim on Duval Street, that helped a bigger number of Key West tourists enjoy a mouth-watering chance to try Kermit's product. Now you have more chances to get as close as you want to a slurpy key lime pie on a stick oozing with Belgian chocolate.




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