Sophie Dunn’s life has always revolved around food — so it only makes sense that her new business venture will expand her professional palette.
Dunn is the daughter of Gordon Hamersley, who ran the legendary Hamersley’s Bistro until it closed in 2014 after 27 years.
As someone who spent her childhood greeting guests, drawing on paper tablecloths and watching her parents “pour their hearts” into the restaurant, Dunn said Hamersley’s Bistro served as her classroom, playground and second home.
“I really grew up in the restaurant and was always surrounded by food,” Dunn said. “Food was always a topic of conversation. We’re definitely a foodie family. And so food is definitely in my blood.”
Dunn said it “has been my dream forever” to open a food shop spotlighting lesser-known brands that also embodied the hospitality for which Hamersley’s Bistro was known. Dunn’s dream will soon become a reality when she opens Hamersley’s Pantry: a new emerging foods store in South Boston.
“Hamersley’s Pantry is my way of bringing that feeling of discovery, of warmth, of everyday joy into a new chapter,” the 35-year-old businesswoman said. “It’s kind of what my parents had really tried to build, which is this notion of good food brings great company together. And so it kind of feels like a natural continuation of everything I grew up with, just kind of reimagined in my own way.”
How it began
Dunn’s idea for Hamersley’s Pantry came long before she began her PR and communications career in food and beverage.
By age 8, she was running her own “store” out of her house, complete with paper pastries, a shoebox register and her golden retriever, Chester, serving as general manager.
Even when she entered the real workforce, food always found its way back into Dunn’s life.
“I’ve always loved markets. I’ve loved discovering small brands, finding the one ingredient that transforms a dinner,” the shop owner explained. “I take these trips to New York and London and Italy and [would] be reminded how energizing it feels to stumble upon a new ingredient or a tiny brand doing something cool. And I really wanted that feeling here.”
Dunn has worked in tech the last seven years, helping to build brands from the backend and supporting their communication efforts. At some point, she felt the urge to “build something of my own and something that I could be proud of in a very tangible and real way.”
As a Southie resident, Dunn noticed that most people tend to buy the same products over and over again. She felt like her community had “lost a little bit of the fun” of cooking, hosting and gifting — so she set out to change that. Dunn hammered out a concrete plan for Hamersley’s Pantry in January, and she’s never looked back.
“This is really the moment to bring it to life,” she said. “I think, so far, the response from people is that we need something like this in Southie. And so it’s been great that people are so excited about it. It kind of reconfirms that this is the right path that I’m on at the moment.”
What’s in store
Located in a high-traffic area of West Broadway, Dunn said the goal of her store “is to create a place that people can pop into if they need something for dinner.”
To accomplish this, Hamersley’s Pantry will greet shoppers with the “What’s for Dinner?” section upon entry. The section will come with a recipe and ingredients — conveniently packed inside a Hamersley’s Pantry tote bag — needed to cook whatever meal is being highlighted that week.
But the buck doesn’t stop at dinner. Hamersley’s Pantry is designed to become part of one’s daily routine, whether people are popping in to restock their new favorite snack or grab a gift for a party.
To assist with that effort, the shop will be separated into four disctinct categories so customers can have an easier time finding products.
The first will be Sweet Treats, featuring items such as brownie mixes, ice cream and cookies. The Saucy Stuff section will offer a plethora of condiments, from Calabrian chili ideal for chicken dinners to hot sauce to help spice up eggs. Chips, crisps and more crunchy items can be snatched from the Snacky Snacks section. Lastly, anyone searching for common items such as olive oil or spices can find them in the Pantry Picks section.
In addition to these four core sections, Hamersley’s Pantry will have another Grab & Go section with frozen pizzas, premade pasta dishes, fresh bread and flowers. There will also be a homeware and gifts section where shoppers can scoop up glassware, cookbooks, cards, candles and other gifts ideal for an event or one’s own pleasure.
More importantly, Hamersley’s Pantry will “spotlight brands that you’re not finding everywhere else,” according to Dunn. A wide range of lesser-known food and beverage brands that are “shaking up the scene or doing things differently” will populate the pantry, the owner explained.
With this, Dunn’s intention is to help brands that typically don’t have the budget to be on full display at commercial grocery stores such as Stop & Shop or Market Basket.
“What I found is that that’s incredibly expensive to be front and center on those shelves. And, as you probably know, it’s kind of dominated by a few different brands with a lot of money behind them,” the businesswoman explained. “So there’s a lot of brands who are making some incredible, really delicious stuff that just don’t have the exposure.”
By selling these products at an affordable price, Dunn hopes customers will feel more inclined to buy higher-quality goods while discovering what’s new and noteworthy in food and drink.
“How I think about it is, let’s say I have $10 to spend on a snack. I’d much rather spend $10 on something that I know is more quality ingredients from a small brand that I’m supporting and tastes good and that I feel confident about putting into my body or giving to someone, versus $10 at a big-name grocery store and just buying the same thing that I’ve seen for the 35 years of my life,” Dunn explained. “The whole point is for it to be really approachable, fun [and] all about discovery and trying new things.”
Dunn’s father could also be responsible for some of these new finds. In addition to him sending her new brands from Connecticut, where he now lives, Hamersley has given his daughter tons of ideas and products since she first pitched the concept to him roughly eight months ago.
“Of course his mind went a million miles a minute with so many ideas,” Dunn said, mentioning how her father threw out rotisserie chickens as a possible addition to the pantry.
“I kind of had to bring him back and touch the grass and say, ‘No, this is the vibe and the vision.’ But they’ve been great and so supportive and I think really excited to see it come to life,” she added while speaking about her dad and mom, Fiona.
Moving forward
With years of experience building brands, Dunn feels fully equipped to tackle the marketing, communications, branding and graphic design for Hamersley’s Pantry.
She is, however, learning more of the fundamentals of running a business, such as printing labels, learning how to use QuickBooks, packing boxes and sourcing inventory into Shopify.
If everything goes according to plan, Dunn is hoping to open Hamersley’s Pantry by mid-January. She also intends to leave her tech job to fully focus on Hamersley’s Pantry once it officially opens.
“I love what I do and I love my job, but I have to focus on this full time,” she said. “I’m ready to and excited to kind of dive in with all my brain power.”
Hamersley’s Pantry will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The address for the store is 341 West Broadway, South Boston.
