Home EC is an indie kitchen shop in Little Italy creating a community centered on a shared love of food.
Carynn Pinckney opened the store in 2019. Its name (EC is prounced “eck”) is a nostaglic nod to high school home economics classes. Pinckney said she’d always envisioned herself as a shopkeeper and leaned into her love of cookbooks to create a business where she could highlight them and other unique kitchen items.
Pinckney had first discovered cookbooks in her 20s, turning to them for recipes and inspiration when she was teaching herself to cook. She found many that were full of vibrant photographs and interesting stories about people from all over the world.
The collection of goods at Home EC include some of Pinckney’s favorite cookbooks such as “Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables” by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg. The store also features kitchen decor items, tools, pantry goods, gifts and ceramics made locally.
Pinckney likes to carry unique foods from local brands in store including Karanchi Chili Crisps by Nguyen Le, Petu-Ya Nariz de Perro chili oil by Fredy Rodarte and Remo & Romolo pasta sauce by Nico Piña.
Home EC is also a pick-up point for San Diego businesses including Companion Bread, wine shop Esquina, grains company Farmer Mai, and vegan cakes from Astra Bakehouse. Pop-ups with local chefs and creatives are held regularly at the shop.
“I like to think of Home EC as kind of a meeting place for other small businesses that maybe don’t have a location yet,” said Pinckney. “We like to share our space with budding San Diego food businesses.”
Home EC, at 2355 India Street, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Visithome-ec.co and follow @home.ec.store on Instagram.
Roxana Becerril is a freelance writer.
