Having a ‘fun’gi time at The Mushroom Cap

Kennett Square is a borough of southeastern Pennsylvania with a population of about 6,500. The small town has a big reputation as the Mushroom Capital of the world. The town’s mushroom farms produce millions of pounds of white cap mushrooms. If there’s a white mushroom in your salad, there’s a good chance it originated here.

Kathi Lafferty will show you a model of an old-school mushroom house in her shop, The Mushroom Cap, where she sells an array of fresh mushrooms stored in a cooler along with mushroom merchandise, from souvenir socks to mugs, decor and pantry goods. Some she finds, others she makes herself.

“Up to 600 million pounds of mushrooms are shipped from here each year, and we’re talking about the white mushroom,” says Lafferty, noting that some local farmers grow exotics like portobello, cremini, lion’s mane, shiitake and royal trumpet.

Lafferty has coordinated the annual Mushroom Festival for 20 years. She also looks forward to the annual New Year’s Eve mushroom drop when a 700-pound stainless steel, LED-lit mushroom suspended by a crane descends before a crowd at midnight.

What’s in store at The Mushroom Cap? Health benefits, history, souvenirs, edibles and a 13-minute video that Lafferty invites guests to check out. She says, “I have a couple of 1970s mushroom stools so visitors can sit down and watch, and if they get up, I’m not offended.”

Q. How did The Mushroom Cap become a store dedicated to the borough’s famed fungi?

A. My late husband was a mushroom grower, and I had a consignment shop in town. I said, ‘I think we need to sell mushrooms,’ so we started with a small cooler. I bought the domain for my website, and back then I would go to the gift shows and there were very few mushroom items. I had a hutch in my shop that someone loaned me, and I displayed my Sears Merry Mushroom collection, most of the items I was given as gifts when I got married. It was a conversation piece.

Q. How have you expanded your inventory over the years?

A. At first, all I could do was get T-shirts made, and now we carry mushroom socks, clothing, books, wallets, keychains, stickers and more. We have a Midnight in the Square mushroom ornament, mushroom cookie cutter, puzzles, headbands, rings, neck warmers, playing cards, kitchenware, apparel including hats and a large selection of pantry goods.

We maintain a large selection of fresh mushrooms, and I personally pick them up from farmers every couple of days to replenish the stock in our cooler. Locals and visitors come in to buy mushrooms, and some ask, ‘Do I have to buy a pound?’ I tell them they can buy one single mushroom if they want. I have a scale. I refill our inventory as it sells, and farmers pick mushrooms every day here except for Christmas.

During the last couple of years, mushrooms have exploded because of their medicinal benefits. We offer mushroom coffee from Good Time Health that we make here every day to serve samples. It’s popular and we order every other week from them. It’s like taking a supplement. We sell a lot of mushroom tinctures and people come in for these. People go to nearby Longwood Gardens for flowers, and they come here for mushroom tinctures.

Q. What are the driving factors of curating a shop that is tied to family, traditions and your hometown?

A. I love my business. My husband passed away in May 2024, and I don’t know what I’d do without my store. It’s community and it’s so fun to talk with locals who visit every day and visitors who are just learning about Kennett Square and our mushroom heritage.