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This Harlem Man Wants to Give You The Perfect Pantry Experience

By Gustavo Solis | October 29, 2014 3:07pm | Updated on October 31, 2014 3:55pm
 Joseph Riley Land wants to give New Yorkers the same pantry he used to have when he grew up in Tennessee.  He searches the country for delicious and unique items like Korean barbeque sauces, bacon jam, blood orange cocktail mix and hand-crushed espresso caramels for his “perfect pantry.”
The Perfect Pantry
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HARLEM — Joseph Riley Land grew up with pigs and cows on a Tennessee farm. His mother and grandmother cooked almost everything from scratch. He never had store-bought jelly until he was in college.

“I thought, this was horrible, why are people eating this,” Riley Land said. “I used to go shopping in my parents' pantry in the weekends.”

Now Riley Land, who lives in Harlem, wants to give New Yorkers the same pantry experience he had in Tennessee.

While working at Williams-Sonoma, Riley Land ordered the food selections and worked closely with distributors. He developed his palate and got to know hundreds of retailers around the country.

To stock up perfect pantry, he searches the country for handmade, all natural, hard to find items. 

Here are some of his most popular items:

Bacon jam from Seattle that costs $13

► Blood orange cocktail mix from Vermont for $16

Hand-crushed espresso caramels from his  native Tennessee for $12

► A line of Korean barbecue sauces made in Queens that sells for $14

“It’s a curated collection,” he said. “And I use that word because that’s really what I do.”

One of the biggest challenges is keeping the prices low, because most of the items come from small businesses and made with quailty ingredients, he siad.

Riley Land has been selling his items online and in pop-up shops around Harlem since May 2013. He started at Astor Row on Lenox Avenue and has most recently been at the outdoor market on West 117th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard.

Because his inventory is four times as big as when he started, his living room is stacked with boxes. Riley Land is ready to take the business to the next level.

He wants to open a brick-and-mortar shop in Harlem and is trying to raise $18,000 with a crowdfunding campaign. He wants to open the shop in the neighborhood because he lives there and he doesn’t think people should have to go downtown for quality ingredients, he said.

Apart from selling the items separately, Riley Land also works with people one-on-one. Spend one hour with him and he will be able to pick out the perfect pantry for your cooking habits and favorite tastes.

He has also worked with clients to come up with menus for private parties and events like Thanksgiving dinner.

“I like the concept of a little piece of Riley Land to be in everyone’s home,” he said.