By Clark Judge
(March 1, 2026) — “You can’t always get what you want. But if you try some time, you just might find you get what you need.”
— “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” The Rolling Stones.
It took years — no, decades — for Jen Parkinson to try. But when she started her own business two years ago, she finally got what she wanted … and what’s not to like about that? People love stories with happy endings. But this one comes with a twist. Because while she got what she wanted, Parkinson didn’t get what she needed.
Her customers did.
Ever since she was a teenager growing up in Guilford, the 45-year-old Parkinson dreamed of owning and operating her own restaurant. That vision became a reality when, in 2024, she launched Café Laurel at a site previously occupied by Bittersweet Farm and where, by Parkinson’s admission, she started with a toaster oven and prep table. But to get there, she had to work her way up the … what else? … food chain as a baker, waitress, intern, server, caterer, sous-chef and chef, with stops in Guilford, Niantic, Mohegan Sun, Old Lyme, Hartford, Chester and Killingworth’s La Foresta and The Cooking Company.
“So, I learned everything,” she said.
Good thing. Parkinson serves most of those roles — if not more — as owner and operator of her own place.
Which is where the customers come in.
In short, Jen Parkinson has a responsible and generous history of cooperation with the Haddam/Killingworth community. She’s catered weddings. She’s catered fundraisers. She’s catered wine dinners, engagement parties, bridal and baby showers, Super Bowl parties, Town Picnics, five-course meals, Farm-to-Table events … and even volunteered her services for some of them. Small wonder, then, that she has strong connections with familiar names like Lavender Farm, the Rustic Barn, Deer Lake, Running Brook Farms, the Killingworth Women’s Organization and the Middlesex County Farm Bureau.
“She’s committed to supporting local farms as much as she can,” said Running Brook’s Becky Goetsch. “It costs a lot of money to buy locally with her ingredients. Yet she does that, and I admire it. The farming community really appreciates the support.”
But her following extends in all directions. Higganum’s Sycamore Farm Meats is a staunch ally. Wine and wellness consultant Lynn Gallant periodically teams with her for wine-themed dinners. Members of the board that oversees Deer Lake meet regularly at her café, while Leightsinger Farm’s Mary Rickert is so enamored with Parkinson that she hopes to host one of her catered dinners this year.
I think you get the idea. She has a coterie of admirers. So, why don’t we hear more about her?
“You should,” said Rickert.
OK, then, let’s get started.
“EVERYBODY LOVES WHAT SHE HAS”
In case you haven’t noticed, Killingworth is in the midst of a culinary boom — particularly where Café Laurel is located. Counting the arrivals of AristoKraft Kitchen and Tusk in February, there are now ten food-and-drink sites south of the Route 81 rotary, all of which are within easy walking distance of each other — including five (Copper Skillet, DaVinci Pizza, the New Great Wall, Subway and Tusk) in Killingworth Village. With so many choices, the challenge to outrun the competition can be extreme,-especially when your site is barely visible from the road.
Which Café Laurel is.
Tucked behind a wall of unremarkable buildings off Route 81, the 1,100-square foot site can be hard to find. In fact, when Sycamore Farms’ Pete DiGioia first brought meat there, he thought he was lost because, as he put it, “it was so far in the back nobody would know she’s there.” Granted, there’s a hand-painted sign along the main drag, but, truth be told: You couldn’t find it this week. It was buried within a tomb of snow.
A problem? Not for Parkinson, who remains undaunted.
“I believe in myself,” she said, “and that’s what I have to do. I can make anything work.”
And she does, with a café that feels like home and a line of customers who keep coming back. So, what’s her secret?
“She goes out of her way to make sure everybody loves what she has,” said Gallant.
What she has, frankly, is unique. Check out one Tuesday special, and tell me it’s not: For breakfast, there was a Cohen’s bagel with Sycamore sausage, eggs, smoked mozzarella, roasted peppers and chipotle mayo on it. Try reciting that twice. More interested in a salad? Try one with artichokes, olives, hearts of palm, shaved parmesan, onions and baby greens, tossed with creamy garlic dressing. And the sandwich? A toasted baguette with prosciutto, burrata, pesto, balsamic and arugula.
“I love to be creative,” said Parkinson. “So, I try to have something different than everyone else.”
Well, then, mission accomplished. However, if you’re not interested in the daily specials, consult the two blackboards behind Café Laurel’s pastry counter. There you’ll find a variety of salads and sandwiches … and this just in: If you still don’t see what you want, ask for Parkinson and tell her what you need. Guaranteed, she’ll respond.
“I once told her I was going to buy her a mirror,” said assistant Susan Reilly (above photo, left, with Parkinson), “so she could look into it and practice saying, ‘No.’ “
Sitting at her side, Parkinson laughed.
“Because I don’t,” she said.
“KEEP DOING WHAT YOU’RE DOING”
On an early Wednesday morning it’s snowing in Killingworth for the second time in three days. Schools are closed. Roads are slick. And Jen Parkinson is back on the job at Café Laurel, this time jumping on Facebook with an offer of free hot chocolate for kids stuck at home for a third consecutive day.
A seemingly minor gesture, it nevertheless reveals why her clientele is as loyal as it is enthusiastic. She’s imaginative. She’s flexible. She’s thoughtful. And she’s determined to succeed in a competitive market.
After fielding more than 200 orders last Thanksgiving, she and her husband, Rich, (photo above) finished the job by spending the night before pickups sleeping on the Café Laurel floor. The first year they “slept” on a tablecloth; the second on an air mattress that Parkinson’s sister gave her. The orders went out on time.
“Basically,” she said, “we were there for 24 hours. But I love what I do, and I love this community. Everyone’s so friendly, and we all work together to do good things for the kids, the elderly and the poor. I try to help with that.”
She tries to help with everything local –from meats to produce to eggs to … the high-school football team. She donated her time and money to a catering fundraiser last year for the Haddam-Killingworth High School team (her son is a member) and plans to do it again this spring.
None of that has gone unnoticed, with recipients of her largesse effusive in their praise. Here’s why:
- At the two Farm-to-Table fundraisers at Running Brook, farmers donated food that she prepared and served for free. Price of admission: $75 per person, with the money going toward scholarships for the Middlesex County Farm Bureau. “Without her,” said DiGioia, “we wouldn’t be able to keep it going. She’s not there just to cook or make a buck. She’s there for the town and kids. It’s been an awesome partnership because she’s committed to the community.”
- Then there’s Running Brook’s Goetsch, who first met Parkinson when she grabbed lunches at Café Laurel. She hired her two summers ago to cater her wedding to Scott Papoosha, and the rest you know. “I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of girl,” said Goetsch, “and she can accommodate me. I can give her the gist of what I want and completely trust her to execute my vision without giving her any details.”
- “She does amazing work and is extremely kind to the community,” said Gallant, who closed February with another wine pairing, this one at Café Laurel for a Taste of New Mexico. “I sought her out because of our similar platform of clean ingredients — Clean-Crafted Wine, with locally sourced ingredients. That’s why it works.”
- And let’s not forget Hillary McDonnell. She wanted to have her baby shower at Running Brook but didn’t know Parkinson. Nevertheless, she contacted her because, as McDonnell said, “she was local.” Smart move. “Some caterers,” she said, “need to know the exact number of what you want two or three weeks in advance. But I second-guessed myself a week before because I didn’t know if we’d have enough. It takes a lot for someone in that business to say, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll just make four more quiches and make each a different kind.’ That’s going above and beyond, in my mind.”
And there you have it. In the end, everyone is happy. Jen Parkinson got what she wanted, and her customers got what they needed. Only the Rolling Stones “get no satisfaction.”
“My advice to her?” said Goetsch. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. Provide awesome food and awesome service, and there’s nothing to worry about.”
Photos by Clark Judge and Jen Parkinson
