This coffee not just for the Hamptons
Jason Belkin, co-owner of Hampton Coffee Company poses in the roasting room of his store in Watermill. (Sept. 6, 2011) Credit: Randee Daddona
The tiny Hampton Coffee Co. of Water Mill has graduated from the Hamptons.
The 17-year-old company's coffee products have made the leap many other small food retailers dream of -- to the shelves of 45 King Kullen stores throughout Long Island.
"That doesn't happen often," said Al Spinazzola, King Kullen's director of dairy and deli, of a small company's products getting sold by the supermarket giant.
But Jason Belkin, who along with his wife, Theresa, has owned and operated Hampton Coffee for the past 12 years, has been offering his coffee -- Hampton Classic Blend, Southampton Organic Blend, and others -- strategically.
Hampton Coffee has been available at King Kullen stores in Hampton Bays and Bridgehampton for years. A few other King Kullens were added in recent years.
King Kullen buys from Long Island growers, so why not add an Island coffee maker? (Hampton Coffee roasts its own.) This summer, Belkin said, Hampton Coffee made its appearance on the King Kullen lineup.
"It's been years of building a relationship," Belkin said.
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