Delmarva Artisans: A Homegrown Revolution
An excursion to a Costa Rican coffee farm changed Ben Masino’s life. The growing process fascinated him — so much so that he returned to work on the farm. “I was able to get my hands dirty and learn about farm management and growing methods,” he says. “It made me want to buy from small producers asking for better pricing and wanting to pay a living wage.”
Today, Ben Masino owns Gaia Coffee Co., a small-batch roastery with a mobile espresso bar and wholesale business.
He’s not the only Delmarva resident who’s turned a passion for food or beverage into a boutique business, which has become easier since many states loosened restrictions on making certain items at home. The reopening of farmers markets and the spike in online sales also helped pave the way for area entrepreneurs.
Customers, meanwhile, have embraced their wares. “There is a lot of interest and appreciation for artisan goods,” agrees Isabel Walsh, owner of Lewes-based Gather, which makes cookies familiar in Central and South America.
The enthusiasm is robust in beach resort towns, where visitors are eager to discover unique — and tasty — souvenirs. The breadth of the offerings might surprise you. Consider these six examples.
For the Love of Latte
Most people get into coffee roasting after a stint as a barrister. Masino entered the business on the other side of the equation —a Costa Rican coffee farm. He worked as a roastery apprentice in Delaware before opening Gaia Coffee Co., which started in 2017. He became the sole owner in 2021.
Today, the coffee is available at Old World Breads near the Nassau bridge in Lewes, which has an espresso machine, Zava Café in Milton and Rehoboth Beach, and Lewes Oyster House. Customers can also buy direct from Gaia’s mobile espresso operation at the Historic Lewes Farmers Market.
Since his 2-kilo home coffee roaster limits Masino’s output, he wants to rent a larger space for a 10-kilo model. Meanwhile, retail customers can purchase such blends as Slower Lower and Farmers Market online.
Sauces, Spices and Salts
Mark Schaeffer is well known as the chef of The Summer House and The Libation Room in downtown Rehoboth Beach. But those who like to turn up the heat follow Schaeffer for another reason: Murder Sauce.
The vinegar-based, organic hot sauce is a genuine farm-to-table product. “I’ve always had a garden,” says the Dover native, who grew up on a farm. “I started growing hot peppers and thought, ‘Why not make hot sauce?’ I put hot sauce on everything.”
Friends suggested he sell it, so he planted more peppers, including Caribbean red and habanero from the West Indies. What he doesn’t grow, he purchases at farmers markets.
So, what’s with the name? It comes from his nickname, Schaef Murder. “I’m not sure how it came about, but it stuck,” he admits. A crazy name is expected in the hot sauce world, and it’s somewhat apt given the Murderkill River in southern Kent County. (Mother is “moeder” in Dutch, and “kill” is creek or river.)
Currently, Murder Sauce is an if-you-know-you-know product. Follow the product’s Facebook and Instagram pages to determine when the next batch is available.
Cape Seasonings Soul Blend has 10 spices and herbs, including cayenne pepper, onion and garlic. The herbs contain capsaicin, which reportedly relieves pain relief and promotes natural weight loss.
John “Butch” Feeser offers a container for cooking and seasoning. Or purchase Soul Blend-dusted pretzels and chips. (The latter may not help with weight loss.) The products are available at capeseasonings.com and area stores, including Lloyd’s Market in Lewes and Outlet Liquors in Rehoboth. Feeser has also participated in the Rehoboth Beach Farmers Market.
Cape Seasonings Soul Blend is a low-sodium product. On the opposite side of the seasoning spectrum is Henlopen Sea Salt, which owner Dave Burris started as a hobby. It’s not as easy as you might think.
“You have to figure out to remove the water so that it’s edible and tasty and how to get the flakes to emerge,” he explains. As the process improved, he gave the salt as gifts, and friends said they would gladly pay for more. After leaving his job as chief of staff of the Delaware Senate in July 2020, Burris was in the salt business.
Keeping up with the demand has been difficult — a gallon of seawater produces about 2 ounces of flake. However, Burris has fine-tuned the production. Like coffee and wine, he says, the taste of sea salt differs depending on the area. “I had one chef say mine tastes like wiping out on surfboard when they were 7 years old at the beach,” Burris says. But evidently, that was a good thing.
You can buy the salt online. Also available are salt blends, including fennel-thyme sea salt.
A Healthy Endeavor
Speaking of wiping out, Hunter Schaeffer is an avid surfer, and the fitness nut grew frustrated when he couldn’t find a palatable, healthy protein bar to take on surf trips. “I pretty much tried everything on the market, and some of them were not very healthy,” recalls Schaeffer, who is Mark Schaeffer’s cousin.
Experiments at home led to Fringe, plant-based protein bars rich in adaptogens, including functional mushrooms. He shared his bars with friends, who pronounced them “super sick,” a compliment.
The Rehoboth Beach resident started the company in March 2022, and flavors include chocolate-almond butter, coconut cashew and mango hemp.
The website is the primary sales outlet. But you can also find them in Rise Up Coffee Roasters locations (Schaeffer is the general manager of the Rehoboth site) and Soulfire Collective in Rehoboth. Selling on Amazon is a future goal that the energetic Schaeffer will undoubtedly achieve.
Baking a Business
For professional baker Isabel Walsh, the taste of comfort is alfajores, the dessert she grew up eating in Central America, where her mom owned a bakery. The dulce de leche sandwich cookie, made with shortbread, can also include fruit jam or curd (alfajores supreme).
While working at Bella Luna Boutique in Rehoboth Beach and The Station on Kings in Lewes, Walsh and husband Matthew made alfajores for friends. “Everybody loved them, and we loved to see their reaction when they tried them for the first time,” she recalls.
During Presidents Day weekend, Bella Luna invited Walsh to sell the cookies in the shop. “I sold out!” she says. “We knew we had a business.” Gather debuted in April 2022, and this year, it is participating in the Historic Lewes Farmers Market and the Rehoboth Beach Farmers Market in Delaware and the Berlin Farmers Market and Crofton Farmers Market in Maryland.
Get there early. “It’s uncommon that we don’t sell out,” Walsh notes. You can also purchase the cookies by the box and jar online.
