Rachael Mahoney, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York City, launched her own meal preparation and delivery business four years ago in Greenwich.
Rachael Mahoney, founder and owner of Kinney Lane. Contributed
Sourcing largely organic foods from local farms, Mahoney swiftly built up Kinney Lane‘s client list and soon was creating and delivering an average of 30 to 40 meals weekly, outgrowing the commercial kitchen she’d been sharing.
About one year ago, she started looking for a new dedicated space for her headquarters. This month, Kinney Lane is moving to a Vitti Street building that will allow the growing business to serve New Canaan and surrounding communities.
“I found the absolute perfect space for me,” Mahoney told NewCanaanite.com. “I was looking at kitchen space and nothing in Greenwich was the vibe I wanted. This is kind of off the main area and it’s an adorable, sweet market. It felt right. It felt like something people would want in a market.”
Kinney Lane salads. Contributed
While the initial launch of Kinney Lane will see Mahoney and her staff of three take meal orders for delivery, future plans include opening an in-person market in the building at 31 Vitti St.
With many parents exhausted by a protracted pandemic that’s seen them juggle work and kids at home for a full year, Mahoney said she’s eager to bring “food that is fresh and delicious and healthy” to town residents.
“I cannot be more excited to open in a new market because I know how important it is now,” she said.
Kinney Lane posts weekly menus and customers place their orders before Friday afternoon and they’re delivered to their doors the following week on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. The healthy food choices including vegan options and some of the items from the most recently updated menus include Spring Ribollita ($15), Rosemary Chicken with Early Spring Cauliflower Salad ($17.50), Spaghetti Squash with Cauliflower Bolognesse (vegan—$15) and Apple Cinnamon Oat & Chia Pudding (gluten-free—$6).
Rachael Mahoney, founder and owner of Kinney Lane outside her Vitti Street space. Contributed
Kinney Lane itself, founded and owned by Mahoney and run by “a small team of women,” she said, also is part of a small local business ecosystem.
“Supporting local businesses is so important, because it’s not just support women or businesses, I am also supporting local farms and local chefs,” she said. Supporting small locally owned businesses helps to “keep the heart of the community alive and vibrant” she said.
Kinney Lane itself took its name from a place that’s dear to Mahoney’s heart, she said.
Her parents both are from New York City and, growing up, they would go to a summer house upstate on a farm called ‘Kinney Lane’ when the family lived in Brooklyn. And that farm “everything I wanted this company to stand for, which is farm-fresh, family-owned and happy food,” Mahoney said.