While it is a nightmare for those cursed with nut allergies, the roasted Peanut Shop on 10th and State streets in Erie, PA, is well worth the trip.
My peanut butter obsession was realized when my mother scolded me for eating it straight out of the jar using no utensils but my fingers. I’ve since kicked that habit, but still have the tendency to eat the stuff as a side dish or a snack rather than on sandwiches.
Back to the Peanut Shop. It’s not five minutes off Gannon University’s campus and the words “Roasted Peanuts” serve as a beacon to passersby.
The Peanut Shop has been in operation since the ‘40s and is one of Erie’s longest-lasting businesses. Any chance I have to support small businesses and meet the characters who run them is noteworthy to me.
I’ve lived in Erie for three years and finally found it open Saturday. Naturally, I dragged my visitor from home in with me to be greeted by a display of nuts plain and candied, vintage peanut ads and a heavily accented voice from the back of the store saying she’d be right with us.
I noticed jars of penny candy and a flannel hanging up by the cash register. There wasn’t much elbow room because the owner had packed the corner shop just about full, but there was a lot to look at.
Our original incentive was the signs in the window promising fudge and right when I noticed the ice box style freezer, the owner was back. She was wearing a mid-length skirt and had her hair tightly pulled back in a small blonde knot.
“You live in Erie?” she demanded. I told her yes for simplicity’s sake and asked her what kind of fudge she had. It was right down to business with her. Further research gave me this woman’s name, Annie Linebach.
She gave me two choices and asked if we wanted any. Soon we had rung up a bill with two pieces of vanilla peanut butter fudge and Linebach gingerly dressed them in a paper towel before explaining her famous peanut butter.
“You like peanut butter?” she asked. I almost laughed. How could live a place called the Peanut Shop without buying the best spread on earth?
My date shot me a quick look and nodded as I told her yes. Linebach pulled out a plastic jar that was probably half a quart and said it would be three dollars.
“I put nothing else in it,” the owner explained. “No preservatives or salt. Nothing.”
“Just the peanuts?” I asked.
“You can watch me. Nothing else in it.”
We stepped out of the way so Linebach could scoop peanuts into a grinding machine that I guessed was from the ‘50s or the ‘80s. She told the truth, it was just the peanuts, and it was beautiful.
I watched her put the lid on my new, preservative-free peanut butter and paid her in cash after she told us she didn’t take credit cards.
Linebach asked me to come back for my opinion on my purchases and I’m already planning my next trip. Besides, that peanut butter won’t last long with me around. Whether you’re a nut junkie, looking for a cheap sugar fix, or find yourself up and about early on the weekends, I’d recommend the Peanut Shop.
