Husband and wife team focus on local gourmet products at Manayunk shop

Husband-and-wife duo Dan Nemiroff and Sarah Holmes always joked that if they won the lottery, they would open their own gourmet shop.

They never struck gold, but decided to take the leap anyway when they opened Petit Gourmand in Manayunk last year. The store specializes in gourmet kitchen tools and other high-quality food products.

Holmes is a small business lawyer and mother of the couple’s two small children. Nemiroff is a public transportation planner for SEPTA and has a background in culinary arts. 

“I was walking around the 2013 Manayunk Arts Festival and a small building off Cotton Street jumped out at me,” said Holmes. “I was able to peek through the papers on the windows and saw just enough space for a shop and a separate downstairs entrance for my law practice.”

Holmes signed the lease in July 2013 and after the couple put some fresh paint on the walls, added fixtures and obtained a food license, they were up and running by Labor Day.

Local demand for locally-made products

Petit Gourmand carries gourmet food, drinks and appliances but it didn’t take long for the couple to notice a growing demand for locally-made products noting some of their most popular items include Philly-based Rival Bros. Coffee and John and Kira’s Chocolates.

“The products that we carry are really an extension of our lifestyle, that has been expanded by the demand of the neighborhood. People really love to support reputable, well made Philly products.”

On Saturdays, the shop has a stand at the Pretzel Park Farmers Market in an effort to expose the community to locally-made goods and to the Manayunk small business that carries them.

As the shop approaches its one-year mark, the duo is looking to continue expanding their local gourmet food clientele.

Looking ahead to the holidays, the shop recently branched out to selling assorted gift baskets.