Stonewall Kitchen, the specialty foods and home goods retailer headquartered in York, has hired Carrie McDermott as CEO. She succeeds John Stiker, who is retiring after eight years in the role.
McDermott comes to Stonewall after serving since 2018 as CEO of PetPeople, an Ohio-based natural pet food and supplies retailer that recently was acquired by pet supply chain Hollywood Feed. McDermott also worked for a year as president of Sally Beauty, an international beauty supply retailer, and shoe store chain DSW, where she rose over nine years to the role of chief operating officer.
Carrie McDermott has been hired as CEO of Stonewall Kitchen, succeeding John Stiker. Photo courtesy of Stonewall Kitchen
“I have had the pleasure of working with (Stiker) and the team at Stonewall Kitchen for the past few months. They are a talented group of leaders who love the company, are passionate about the core values, and continue to deliver on the promise of superior quality food and home goods,” McDermott said in a statement.
“I’m excited to work with the entire team at Stonewall Kitchen to continue to deliver high-quality products with a diverse offering of brands.”
Stonewall Kitchen began in 1991 as a partnership between Jonathan King, a gardener, and Jim Stott, an amateur cook, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Together, they created jams and jellies for sale at farmers markets. Today the company’s products are distributed by 19,000 retailers nationwide as well as 10 company stores across New England.
The company was sold in 2014 to Centre Partners, a New York private equity group where Stiker worked. Boston investment firm Audax Private Equity bought Stonewall Kitchen in 2019 and sold it to another private equity firm, TA Associates, in 2022. Over recent years, Stonewall Kitchen has acquired seven companies and opened a cafe in Boston, but also closed the company’s store in Portland, as well as the cooking school on its York campus.
In a release, Stiker said he is excited to see how McDermott shapes Stonewall Kitchen with her experience from various retail sectors.
“Stonewall Kitchen is in extremely good hands,” Stiker said. “(McDermott) also understands the importance of our unique culture here, which is something we strive for and take great pride in at Stonewall Kitchen.”
McDermott is planning to move from Ohio and is currently house-hunting near Stonewall Kitchen’s campus in York, the company said.
In addition to McDermott’s hiring, Stonewall Kitchen has promoted Steve Barone, former vice president of manufacturing, to chief operating officer; Corey Fogarty, former vice president of merchandising, to chief merchandising officer; Kathy Gilbert, former vice president of national sales, to chief sales officer; and Janine Somers, former vice president of marketing and direct-to-consumer sales, to chief marketing officer.
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