BRONSON — It turns out after years of building a brand, working ungodly hours and pinching pennies, the main problem now with Thaddeus and Kelly Perry’s dream was that they didn’t think big enough.
The Bronson natives opened Perry’s Pork Rinds and Country Store July 30, featuring everything from homemade fudge, daily breakfast and lunch specials, fresh produce and assorted grocery items like milk and bread.
Less than two months later, the couple came to a conclusion. Their brand-spanking-new building isn’t nearly big enough.
“We thought we’d have people come in and buy a few pork rinds, maybe a soda and some milk or bread,” Kelly said.
But with more customers showing up daily, and orders for the popular pork rinds filling up every nook and cranny of the 2,400-square-foot building’s storage space, Kelly has already had to move her office to a rear corner of her HVAC room.
“In fact, we’ve already called the contractor,” Kelly said, to begin setting plans about adding on to the building. (It was designed for eventual expansion. The Perrys just didn’t envision “eventual” meaning weeks.)
“It’s not if we need to,” Thaddeus said. “We have to do this.”
And since they’re in the “thinking big” mode, the Perrys have a few more tricks up their entrepreneurial sleeve.
Aside from expanding the building, they plan to develop an RV park behind the building, complete with water and sewer hook-ups and a public laundry facility.
And by extending the new building, Thaddeus has announced his intention to open a sweet tea and catfish restaurant.
“If you think big, you get big,” he said.
“I’ve already got what I wanted, which is a store,” Kelly added. “My dream was to have my own store for the pork rinds. His love is to cook for people.”
THE PERRYS’ story began a bit more humbly than most.
A few years back, the couple was hoping to go on a cruise, but cruises are expensive, and they didn’t have nearly enough money in their bank account.
To pay for their tickets, the Perrys decided to raise funds at a fall festival in McCune, Mo.
Kelly would make funnel cakes, while Thaddeus — a butcher by trade — would fry up a batch of pork rinds. It was a hobby of sorts for Thaddeus, who often would prepare the snack for friends on weekends.
