Miss Kelly’s Jellies has expanded into a brick-and-mortar shop, Miss Kelly’s Cupboard. Owners Kelly and DJ Patterson celebrated their grand opening with a ribbon-cutting on Wednesday.
Miss Kelly’s Jellies started in 2014; the Pattersons added The Hub’s Rubs BBQ in 2017, and then Miss Kelly’s Cooking in 2023. Kelly started by giving her jellies as gifts, but it wasn’t long before her friends told her she should sell them. That’s when she decided to quit her “big girl job” and go all in on the jellies.
Growing up in Pennsylvania, surrounded by Amish communities and big gardens, she learned everything she knows from her grandmother. From making the jams and jellies to canning and keeping them shelf-stable.
A big portion of her usual community showed up for the Aug. 26 ribbon cutting. Kelly said she owes a lot to the farmers market community she’s served for years. She knows their kids’ names, their dogs’ names, and they all catch up twice a week at their usual market spots. She still plans to attend farmers markets, time permitting.
DJ is a military contractor, as well as her “emotional support husband” and the hubby behind Hub’s Rubs BBQ. He works full time but took the day off to help with the grand opening; he also accompanies her to the Saturday markets and bigger street fests.
When asked whether opening a storefront was always part of the vision for Miss Kelly’s Jellies, Kelly said they fell into it. When the former home of Across the Street Bails Bonds became available, right next to her rental commercial kitchen at Spoon Licker’s Catering, she jumped on the opportunity.
“It just made sense,” said Kelly.
Miss Kelly’s Cupboard carries an assortment of chicken salads, pimento cheeses, BBQ rubs, coffees, sourdough breads, trail mix, and Dees Bees’ honey, along with her famous jellies that started it all. Her website boasts “Miss Kelly’s Cookin’ so you don’t have to!” You can also find prepared, ready-to-heat-and-eat meals at both the Cupboard and her farmers market stalls. Visit the Cupboard Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., located at 205 S. McNeill St., in Carthage.
Miss Kelly’s Jams & Such LLC is a North Carolina Department of Agriculture-inspected business that makes all its products in a commercial kitchen in Carthage. You can find Miss Kelly at the Moore County Farmers Market on Thursdays at The Armory Sports Complex on Morganton Road in Southern Pines and on Saturdays at the Moore County Farmers Market at the downtown park on Broad Street in Southern Pines.
Feature photo: Kelly Patterson (center), DJ Patterson and a longtime friend and customer, Antoe Allen.
Want Moore news that matters? Please click here to sign up for the free Sandhills Sentinel e-newsletter.
~ Article and photos by Sandhills Sentinel reporter Megan Hall.
