CAPE MAY — A wave of new businesses has rolled in the summer along the beach in Cape May, where shoppers can expect more than just coffee shops and clothing stores as there’s a new pickle store on Beach Avenue.
Kyle Kilhaney recently opened his fourth Kilhaney’s Pickles at the site of the former Beach Theatre. He’s been selling his assorted homemade pickled products on Beach Avenue for the past month.
“I loved going to Cape May since I was little, and when we started the store, my dad said I should go to Cape May,” Kilhaney said. “It just so happened, I was walking around, and sure enough, the theater was for sale. I spent six months working inside trying to make it look good again.”
Kilhaney’s renovation projects were reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission because the theater is a historic location.
An opportunity to open a location in Ocean City came up at the same time as the Cape May location.
“I had friends who owned a jerky store,” Kilhaney said. “They said they were retiring and asked if I wanted to take over the store, so we opened two locations in the same week.”
Kilhaney’s Pickles dates to the early 2000s, when Kilhaney worked on farms. Working with produce introduced him to pickling, and he started developing his own recipes and products.
“I got into farming, and that’s what really pushed this because I got too busy making pickles,” Kilhaney said. “It became an obsession of mine to get the best recipe. It took me going to Cornell University and getting a degree in canning.”
Kilhaney used his free time to develop his recipe and find ingredient sources that ensured he was creating the best recipes with the best products he could find.
“It’s a lost art,” he said. “I sent all my stuff to a laboratory to make sure my recipes were good and safe to use.”
In 2016, Kilhaney’s first location was a kitchen to supply his wholesale orders before they started selling products in person. A part of the storefront became open to the public and launched them into the pickle business.
“We do a 100+ pickles from season to season,” Kilhaney said. “We do everything in Hackettstown, and we opened up a second kitchen across the street. It gets crazy.”
People can find Kilhaney’s products on the Kilhaney’s Pickle website, which is filled with unique illustrations. All of Kilhaney’s labels are hand-designed.
“My friend that I was working with slid me a drawing, and it was the bread and butter label,” he said. “Everybody says you eat with your eyes first. It’s gotta look good and taste good.”
Kilhaney explained that he’s always trying to preserve the homemade products of his business. This year, his products and supplies are almost exclusively from New Jersey.
“I have a lot of relationships with New Jersey farms,” Kilhaney said. “We try to be strictly New Jersey produce. Most of the year, everything is from Jersey, when we can.”
Over the past 10 years, Kilhaney’s business has grown to be a top pickle distributor. One of their pickles, Sweet Heat, won a Good Food award in 2024 and a sofi Award, which is recognized as one of the most prestigious awards in the specialty food industry.
When reflecting on the success of his business, Kilhaney recognized his inspiration as his grandmother.
“I always had my grandmother making tomato sauce, and they were a big factor in this whole thing,” Kilhaney said. “We make all the stuff people can buy when they come in. We’re very original, and we’re going to keep running with it.”
Kilhaney’s Pickles is located at 711 Beach Ave. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
By JULIA DIGERONIMO/For the Star and Wave
