Kingston trio wraps up ingenuity between two slices of bread.
KINGSTON — For Amber Harrington, Janae Carlson and Trish Edstrom, working day shifts might take some getting used to.
The three local women, who all used to work long nights pouring drinks at the Filling Station in Kingston’s downtown, now own and operate their own deli and breakfast nook: The Appletree Deli.
The quaint spot, located on the downtown strip of State Route 104, close to the Kingston Ferry Terminal, is cleverly coined after the town’s heritage name, Appletree Cove.
The women’s array of sandwiches and breakfast items sport the same ingenuity. Each sandwich contains a famed name of local Washington State Ferries, like the Yakima Smakima — made with roast beef, turkey and ham, or the Illahee Philly — roast beef with swiss, grilled onions and peppers.
The most popular so far, said Carlson, 25, is the Rhododendron Roadie — cajun turkey with pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, green peppers and barbecue sauce.
Their breakfast items sport local mountains such as the Brothers and Mount Constance. The Rainier Smear — made with bacon, ham, cheddar and cream cheeses with egg and tomato on a bagel, is their specialty breakfast bite. The women even have a Mount Baker stack of biscuits and gravy.
It’s Monday morning and both Harrington and Carlson are hard at work chopping up some breakfast potatoes. A look about the room shows canisters sitting high on shelves stacked full of nuts, chocolates, granola, dried fruits and gummy worms.
“We’re doing a build-your-own trail mix,” said Harrington, 26. While the gummy worms could be mixed in, they are mostly for the kids who come in, she said.
Above the canisters are the three menu boards, one for lunch, one for breakfast and the last is a clue of what’s to come.
The center chalk board showcases Boar’s Head deli meats and cheeses. The women will start selling everything from their cajun turkey to dill havarti by the pound in a few weeks.
“We’re currently working on our merchant’s license,” Carlson said.
Local Pete DeBoer, who works as a Port Commissioner, also stopped in Monday morning.
“Boar’s Head is the Cadillac of all Deli meats,” he said, before pointing out another thing yet to come: text ordering.
DeBoer is currently helping the women by designing a take-home menu. The women credit him with the text ordering idea.
“People can text us their order and we will have it ready and waiting for them by the time they get here,” Harrington said. “Our sandwiches don’t take longer than five minutes to make.”
Even while trying to start the business, which opened Oct. 1, Harrington and Edstrom continue to hold shifts at the Filling Station and Carlson continues to work at the Troller Tavern in Suquamish.
“All have already established a fan base,” said Jamie Capponi, early Monday morning. Capponi, who was grabbing a quick breakfast, helped build all the cabinets and counter walls of the place. Due to their local hold, the girls are seeing some of their favorite clients in their new venue already.
“Between working our real jobs and here, it’s been a lot of work but it’s definitely worth it,” Carlson said. “It’s definitely rewarding.”
