No Place Like Home Plate

For Kathy Lindenmeyer, a bag of popcorn, a box of grits or a chocolate-covered cherry can mean a lot more than just a tasty snack. They can be a connection to home.

After spending decades living in different parts of the country, Lindenmeyer knows firsthand what it’s like to crave the foods that aren’t available once you’ve moved away. That experience inspired her to open Home Plate Provisions on Castle Street, a specialty market dedicated to regional foods from across the United States.

“I grew up in Charleston, and then I moved to Seattle in 1995 for college,” Lindenmeyer said. “I had to mail-order my grits from South Carolina, and the shipping cost more than the grits.”

Years later, after relocating to Wilmington in 2017, the situation had flipped.

“And then I moved here in 2017, and I was mail-ordering my popcorn from Washington, and my coffee, all the things you had come to love there,” Lindenmeyer said.
Those experiences planted the seed for what would eventually become Home Plate Provisions.

While working for national nonprofit organizations, Lindenmeyer traveled extensively, repeatedly noticing that nearly everyone had a favorite regional product they wished they could find somewhere else.

During the pandemic, she finally had time to dig deeper into the idea. She began interviewing friends around the country about the foods they considered essential to their hometowns.

“I was asking them what their go-to gift items are,” Lindenmeyer said. “Or if somebody came to visit, what’s the one thing they would have to try?”

Although she loved her career in nonprofit fundraising, after six years in her most recent role, she found herself ready for something different.

The encouragement she needed came during a cross-country road trip with her son.
“I was talking to him about what I should do, and he said, ‘Why don’t you do the thing that you’ve been wanting to do forever, that you’ve been working on for years and years,’” Lindenmeyer recalled.

What followed happened faster than she ever expected. After mentioning her dream to her current Castle Street neighbor, Kat Perez of La Mar Salada, she learned that her current space was becoming available.

“Within a week I had rented it,” Lindenmeyer said. “It just all happened so quickly and rolled out so easily.”

The shelves at Home Plate Provisions are organized by region, allowing customers to browse everything from Southern staples and New England favorites to Pacific Northwest specialties and Texas treats. Some shoppers come searching for a taste of home, while others simply want to discover something new.

“People are often missing something that I’m just not going to be able to get,” Lindenmeyer said. “But if somebody wants the Cincinnati orange soda, that’s an easy thing for me to source.”

Some of her personal favorites include Berger Cookies from Baltimore, an apple ginger ale from Pennsylvania, Bjorn Qorn, a popcorn from upstate New York that is popped by heat from solar panels, and Bloody Mary chips from Low Country Kettle Chips in Charleston.

Many of her products come from tiny producers that don’t have national distribution. Sometimes placing an order means working through specialty distributors, but often it’s much more personal.

“There are many things in here that don’t have barcodes,” Lindenmeyer said. “They come from small producers that normally only sell locally, so there are many things where I’m just calling a lady and hoping she’ll ship me her product.”

Lindenmeyer takes particular pride in introducing Wilmington shoppers to products they likely wouldn’t encounter otherwise. One of her biggest success stories is Chukar Cherries from Washington state.

“I called that lady, and she’s like, ‘Are you sure you want to sell these?’” Lindenmeyer said. “And I said, ‘I do.’”

She began offering samples when the store first opened, and the response was immediate.

“Every single person who tried them bought them, and now they’re a super popular item that people come back for over and over again,” she said. “I just love that I have been able to spread the word.”

Her carefully curated inventory reflects places she’s lived and traveled, along with recommendations from customers who stop in looking for a favorite treat from back home.

The balance of honoring nostalgia and encouraging discovery is what makes Home Plate Provisions more than just another specialty grocery. It’s a place where longtime locals, recent transplants and curious food lovers can all find something that tells a story.

On July 11, the store will take part in Downtown District Day, with a series of events centered on food, travel and local discovery. The lineup includes appearances by local artist Elana Núñez-Tiso, James Beard Award-winning food journalist Hanna Raskin and Adrian Willis of Marry Me Marinara. For more information, visit homeplateprovisions.com or follow @homeplateprovisions on Instagram.

Home Plate Provisions is located at 910 Castle St. and is open Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Online ordering and shipping are available at homeplateprovisions.com.