Well, this is a simply charming and oh-so-old New England Yankee feel. Right on the banks of the Queen River (imagine getting to see and hear this pristine waterway every day at work), the Kenyon Grist Mill is still a working mill, grinding grains from the local farmers. It's no longer powered by the river (it's now electric) but the taste of the johnny cake meal, clam cake mixes, Boston brown bread flour, is still old-time nostalgia. I don't think tours of the mill are given (but I'll bet if you ask real nice, they'll probably give you one if not too busy), but you're welcome to take in the gorgeous water view and visit the little gift store across the street. There you'll find all things local and Rhody goods and souvenirs. We walked away laden with an assortment of jams and mixes - now to get some old-fashioned coffee cans to steam up some bread; and some good bacon to go with crisply fried johnny cake! read more

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Have never been to the mill itself, which is crazy since I have lived in RI all my life. I have been buying the clam cake mix for many years from my local supermarket, but haven't been able to get it in over a month. I had 3 boxes shipped to me when in Fl last winter, but shipping was outrageous! Today I'm going to venture to West Kingston and buy at least 8 boxes, as my Daughter in-law wants some, also her sister, and my friend in Fl wants a couple of boxes too. I keep mine in the freezer till the day I'm going to use them, it will last forever there.Also a hint to users. Always let the batter sit for 5 minutes before frying. It makes the clam cakes, or corn fritters come out smooth instead of crusty. Truly the best fritter mix you will ever use. The only one I ever use. read more

A friend posted an article on social media by local journalist Mark Patinkin saying this business needs the communities assistance to stay in business. For years they have been a regular at the Big E, but this year RI did not invite them to participate. That means a big chunk of their annual income has been cut off. A grist mill has been a community staple going back to the establishment of colonies in the new world. This location has had a grist mill back to the 1600's. They still grind grain using stones. Authentic New England. The mill is on the water side of the road. A parking lot and shop are across the street. There is a huge bell to ring if the shop door is locked. Be prepared, this is one loud bell! A young man quickly came out of the mill to open the shop. I greeted him with a hello as he was crossing the street and he responded in kind. I'm sure he was very busy in the mill and went right to my shopping. I asked several questions about ingredients and he gave me all kinds of information on the different types of grain and how they are ground. Besides the mixes, soap and tshirts were also available for sale. I picked up a bunch of mixes and soap to send to out of state friends as gifts, as well as keep a few for myself. If you are in RI, please consider stopping by to support this business, order from their website, or pick some up at Whole foods. It's a beautiful spot to visit and an historical property and business. We all can do a bit to help keep this RI legacy going. You need to eat; check them out! read more

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Kenyon Grist Mill is located in a village in West Kingston Rhode Island called Usquepaugh which is the name I prefer because it's so authentic. A grist mill has existed in this area in one form or another since 1696. Kenyon's, the current incarnation has been in this exact spot since1886 in it's original antique building. They are still using the original granite millstones that were taken from a quarry in Westerly, RI. Kenyon's Grist Mill takes pride in their commitment to preserving the tradition of granite stone grinding of grains. This is the only place that I know of that still grinds grains in the old fashioned way utilizing single pass stone grinding techniques which help retain the integrity of the product as well as the nutritional value. You can stop by the mill to buy their products but you can fortunately also purchase things on-line. Some local supermarkets in southern New England also carry a few Kenyon products. Kenyon's makes whole wheat, graham and buckwheat flours,rye meal and white, yellow, blue or red corn meal. Yep, corn meal comes in that many "colors". They sell a popular brown bread mix which is a local favorite. They also sell my two favorite items which are the Johnny Cake mix and the Clam Cake and Fritter mix. Both are traditional Rhode Island favorites and it's great to be able to make these treats right at home. All the products sold at Kenyon's are pure with no preservatives or additives of any kind. It's worth a visit to see the mill if you're in Rhode Island otherwise I highly recommend ordering their products on-line. Try a making clam cakes or Johnny cakes if you've never had them. They are spectacularly good! P.S. Kenyon's is hosting a Johnny Cake Festival on October 20 and 21st. See their web-site for details. read more

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A cute location! There's a lot of exciting history in this corn meal company! In one way or another, the property and the company have existed over a century by creating this simple, but necessary, commodity. Their product has become a staple of Rhode Island, with their red and blue boxes gleefully filling store shelves for some time. Their home location includes a small store where you can buy the same products at a respectable price. They also hold a yearly Open House that acts as sort of a small fair, with chowder, clam cakes, johnny cakes, and other goodies made with Kenyon's product. The customer service also has the admirable small town charm. Every sales interaction comes with a story, and in those stories comes history. A fun spot to visit when in the Kingston area. read more

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We usually buy our Kenyon's cornmeal at our local grocery store. We recently ordered directly from the mill and decided to try a couple other products. We were delighted with the cornbread and muffin mix. We were able to add the eggs and oil that we had on hand to the mix and make the most wonderful light and fluffy cornbread. We shared a big piece with our neighbors when it came out of the oven warm and delicious. read more

Kenyon's Grist Mill - Most amazing light and fluffy, easy to make treat. - Specialty Food Near Me - West Kingston, Rhode Island

This place is amazing! They do big fun tour weekends a few times a year and they are totally worth checking out. And they have a small shop on-site with regular hours and the mill itself has regular hours as well. And the beautiful old facility is right on an amazing little lake and they rent kayaks too! They make real stone ground flours and mixes of all types here. They make the single best clam cake mix around! They have some amazing pancake mixes too. And of course they are really famous for their johnny cake mix. The family that runs it is super nice and passionate about what they do. The prices are all quite good for the quality of product they are selling. Worth a visit! read more

okay- for those of you not acquainted with my reviews. i am a midwestern Nebraska gal born and bred, minus summer roadtrips with my grandparents a trip to the Miami and the Bahamas when i was 18- and living in LA for 6 years in the mid to late 90's- the Midwest is where i dwell specifically the suburb of Kansas City. Overland Park KS. yes its a real city. we have blacktop malls and crime. and ghosts too since the Battle of Westport in the civil war was fought here in our city. not that far from where i sit union and confederate armies fought to grisly end to determine the path of our country one of such was my great great plus uncle who fought and died for the union in a field in Arkansas. the closest i've ever gotten to Rhode Island was when i visited Niagara Falls NY. i know. its not close. I only know what i know about RI from Ghost Hunters rented from Netflix. lovely area seems to be haunted or in the case of the Family guy well i dont have to say eh? so with no disrepect intented i have no clue about Northern US culture or food other than what i've gleaned from food and travel shows and read. but i'm always interested in such things. so how did i find Kenyon Grist mill in Usequepaugh West Kingston RI- you ask? well you can thank Oprah scaring me about the "white flour bad for you" and talking all the crazy talk about giving up pancakes. WHAT?? no pancakes.. blasphemy! so once i got past my snit about giving up my pancakes- i realized they were more talking about the actual flour and about the return of Grist mills wheat oat corn meal etc - that and plus a hunger for cornmeal pancakes and a bordom over Bisquick every weekend got me intrigued. i googled gristmills and found Kenyons. when i read- real quality foods since 1696 i thought.. gee. braggers.. what was Nebraska and Kansas way back then. fields where the buffalo roamed? i remember that faintly from my school days haze. so i was browsing thier easy shopping page. they have lots of different kinds of flours for breads- they are much more than just corn meal- and affordable pancake mixes listed below.. buttermilk and honey (the best ever) oat and honey mm honey buckwheat mm apple and spice mmmmmmm blue corn meal pancake (amazing good) corn meal pancake mmm! i have such a selection now i look like a grist mill pantry. i have to say.. all are simply outstanding! THEY ALSO have KENYONS QUEENS RIVER JAMS - the cinnamon pear has me intrigued. AND THEY HAVE REAL RI WILD BLUEBERRY SYRUP!! ITS THE BEST EVER ON THIER CAKES. they also have RI specialty foods quahogs and indian pudding clam and corn CHOW- DER from my simpsons flashback.. and of course the johnnycake mix- last order i decided to try johnnycakes. being a revoluntionary war buff. Johnny tremain in gradeschool left me forever intrigued by that time period.. i of course heard about johnnycakes. never tried them. Sunday evening- i did., i knew they arent pancakes really. more like a pupusa i heard, white corn tho. since a friend and i just looked up how to fill a pupusa i had that knowledge tucked away luckily. it was easy to follow thier directions. making the johnny cakes these more of a dinner course. i added some granulated onion and cracked pepper some chopped bacon and after i did the boiling water corn meal mixing. seriously do that part over the sink. i had my griddle with corn oil heating up. i made the meal mix into a ball and using my tumb shoved some pepper jack in the center then carefully flattened the ball into a patty. were they perfect NOPE.. do i care NOPE. they were excellent though! i did fry per instructions then kept the first ones in the oven as i cooked the others. actually that made them better. brushed them with garlic olive oil before serving- then the reheated ones i tried just simply butter. i prefered the next day ones reheated with butter.. the flavors sat and blended better. in general. i love this mill. when you are looking for a grist mill. look no further! they ship fast, are seriously friendly on the phone, and i am SO glad i am out of my Bisquick rut. Excellent! read more

Stopped by on a beautiful fall afternoon after visiting my youngest at URI. Yes, I know the mill isn't open during the week. There's a cute sign on the storefront (shed) letting you know to ring a bell for storefront service. We had tried the mill door first not knowing it was closed, had never been there before. A man came out of the mill to the store where we had just discovered the sign. He gave no greeting, opened the storefront and went to stand behind the counter. I remarked that he must be busy because of the season and apologized for taking him away from his other work, still no response. Lovely little storefront, lots of products that I'm sure we'd love to try. He just kept standing behind the register, arms folded, waiting for us to decide. We chose a container of corn meal and brought it over to the counter for purchase as we did not want to keep him from what obviously was more important then our measly visit to his store. Not a "thank you" or a "have a nice day" or even a "thank you for your purchase." Glad he is so busy though, he'll need that to sustain his business because we won't be back. read more

Let me start off by saying that the owner Paul is fantastic. So open and friendly. He gave us an in depth history lesson on the mill. We bought some pine soap and Johnnycake mix, but I wanted to purchase more. We are coming back here to kayak very soon. read more

One of two mills in RI where you can get johnnycake meal. It is the 2nd oldest business in the state, and all of its products are stone milled, the old fashioned way. . read more

The buttermilk and honey pancake mix is incredible. Best pancakes I've had and always a great texture.