ABOUT US
Andy and Pat Benko purchased The Parsley Porch in 2007 from Brad Loercher. He had owned several such stores dating back to the 1970’s but only the one at The Green Dragon farmers market still remained. Like Brad, Andy and Pat were former teachers retiring in 2011. Pat taught 4th grade for 24 years, entering the workforce after spending 10+ years as a full-time mother of 3 chi
ldren. Andy, for 39 years, taught biology, biochemistry, and several other subjects and for 2 years after retirement was employed by IU13 as an “Instructional Coach” serving biology and chemistry teachers throughout Lancaster and Lebanon counties in PA. Andy coached 5 sports in 63 total seasons (56 winning) until in 2003 knee and back problems ended his coaching career. In 2004 he was inducted as a coach into a local “Athletic Hall of Honor”. Andy immediately assumed the cooking duties with Pat’s blessing. This necessitated trips to market for fresh meats and produce as well as herbs and spices. He was quickly impressed with products from The Parsley Porch. He was a weekly customer and became friends with Brad. It was well known that Black Friday is a banner day for farmers markets. Brad announced that he would be closed the day after Thanksgiving to visit his grandchildren in Mississippi. After a quick phone call to Pat, Andy offered to open The Parsley Porch. They were shocked to see the business done on that day. A few months later, Brad who wanted to retire, but wanted his business to continue in good hands, made Andy an offer and the rest they say is history. In 2007, the Benkos took over with very few changes. Andy and Brad are still friends. As our website states, “The BEST Spices at GREAT Prices”, this is OUR commitment to YOU. Shortly after assuming ownership we decided to share our wares with the rest of our country through our website. We spent our careers as teachers. We understand and have lived our lives providing service for a modest income. Being a “mom and pop” store without employees, thus far, and operating out of our home with no expensive store to rent, we stand by our commitment. If a competitor can match our quality, they cannot touch our prices. If a competitor can match our prices, they don’t come close to our quality. We MAKE our own pure vanilla extract that is almost a year old before we sell it and it crushes the quality and price of “name” brands. Our saffron is above ISO 3632 Category 1 saffron standards. We have 50+ custom blends, several of which are NO SALT, sold ONLY at The Parsley Porch. We have 30+ wholesale vendors where we pick and choose from the best each has to offer. All our essential oils (except cinnamon which is FOOD grade) are pharmaceutical grade, the highest level of purity and thus quality. Contact us if you have any questions about any of our products. Email works best. [email protected]. We may have only operated The Parsley Porch for 10 years but remember we have over 75 years of dealing with everyday people. Much of any biology course is botany, biochemistry and health. The Parsley Porch is nothing more than roots, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds used in culinary and medicinal applications. Bon appetit!
