Kelly and Thaddeus Perry opened their store, Perry’s Pork Rinds and Country Store on July 31 in Bronson, Kansas-population 309.
The store is located right on Highway 54 that runs through the town.
The mom and pop operation has people sign a guest book when they come in. “This is for Kansas Tourism,” Kelly said. “There have been a ton of people coming in.”
“We sold over 200 pounds of (her homemade) fudge in the first three days we were open,” she said.
Mama K’s fudge, made by Kelly Perry on site, has the capability of making 200 flavors of fudge.
“The fudge takes two hours to make with real cream and butter,” she said. “It’s from the same company that made Ozark Land and Silver Dollar City fudge.”
“We are wholesaling fudge and doing fundraisers (for community organizations),” Kelly said.
Their best seller at the store is their pork rinds, which along with the fudge is made in the back of the store.
Thaddeus said to make the pork rinds they order from a U.S. Dept. of Agriculture site.
“Then it’s cooked until done, then seasoned, then cooled and then bagged,” he said.
“It took two-and-a-half years to get to produce rinds and fudge on site,” Thaddeus said. “People have been asking us for six to eight months when we were going to open.”
In addition to their signature products, “We now carry milk and eggs, that will be from local vendors,” Kelly said. “We will be getting eggs and frozen chickens from Freedom Farms ( a Bourbon County farm) and all our ground beef, brats, hot dogs and bacon are from Bronson (Meat) Locker.”
And important to locals and those passing by, is the ability to purchase local fruits and vegetables.
“The first weekend we sold 28 watermelons and 60 pounds of tomatoes,” she said.
A hot meal is also served everyday from 11 a.m. “until it’s gone,” she said. A list of the week’s offerings are on a whiteboard near the inside door of the store.
The Perry’s have eight employees, some part-time and some full-time.
“We just hired three new employees for the front store,” Thaddeus said.
The store is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
To contact the store: 620.224.2052.