Here and Now

Dayum Jam opens shop, café and production kitchen in Jackson Ward.

They’d considered calling it “The Wedge,” which was cute—and fitting—given the sharp slant of the streets, the triangular shape of the surrounding buildings.

But Dayum This is My Jam founder Andy Waller and their team knew the official name for Dayum Jam’s newly opened Brook Road headquarters needed to reflect who they were, and all that it has taken for them to get here.

They landed on Here Queer, HQ for short. It is both a proclamation and reclamation, “Where is Queer? Queer is HERE,” wrote Waller on Dayum Jam’s Instagram post of the logo unveiling.

Waller’s is an especially powerful message in this slice of Jackson Ward.

“Before [Routes] 76 and 288 and 64 and 100,000 exits, this was the entryway to Richmond,” says Waller’s business partner, Hermes Morningstar. Morningstar’s right, Brook Road was one of the earliest toll roads in Virginia, connecting commerce in the River City to Northern Virginia.

Today, Here Queer is steps away from Black-owned Penny’s Wine Shop, progressive nonprofit arts organization Gallery5 and punk-metal bar GWARbar. A far cry, certainly, from the street front of the early 19th century.

“This has been a lifelong dream,” says Waller. “I remember being 12, talking with my besties about opening a café. I mean, what kid doesn’t dream of having a store one day?”

Waller announced the location of their first ever storefront this Valentine’s Day, and by the end of March, HQ was open for an international Trans Day of Visibility block party.

HQ’s shop is currently open select hours Thursday through Sunday. Customers can purchase Dayum Jam’s well-known jam, pickles and hot sauce as well as products—from jewelry to candles to floggers—from other queer-owned companies.

“A big part of our mission is lining queer people’s pockets,” says Waller. “We want to give them an alternative avenue [for money] other than the conventional workforce.”

Waller and business partner, Hermes Morningstar, are known for their “jam, pickles and hot sauce as well as products—from jewelry to candles to floggers—from other queer-owned companies.”

Waller knows all too well the woes of the workplace. They officially left their nine-to-five and focused on Dayum Jam full-time at the end of 2022. “The average person doesn’t dream of labor,” laughs Waller.

“Then imagine how hard it is being the only queer person in your cubicle ocean of 100 people, and your coworkers can’t get your pronouns right or they ask you really inappropriate questions,” says Waller.

Waller didn’t quite realize the contrast of the two lives they were living—inside the office and outside, making jam and pickles and organizing queer events with like-minded community members—until the pandemic. This is when Waller says they really started to “get out there, both figuratively and literally.”

Waller, who started Dayum Jam with then business partner (and still close friend) Lindsay Larkin in July 2015, wanted to use their platform for more than sales. “I thought, ‘What do I have to lose?,” says Waller. “During the pandemic I decided to be loud, ‘I am very queer and this is what I believe in.’”

While some people inevitably have had something negative to say about Waller’s words, more folks than not have been drawn in by the message. One of those people was good friend turned business partner Morningstar, a long-time line cook and pickle master.

“Hermes is the pickle to my jam,” jokes Waller, who says they prefer jammin’ to picklin’. Morningstar, as cool as the cucumbers he cuts, likes doing both just fine he says.

“That’s what I love about our team,” says Waller. “Everyone has their own crazy personality strengths and makes us good at what we do.” While Morningstar assures everyone the sky is, in fact, not falling, Waller makes sure that Morningstar sets his alarm. “Pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will,” jests Morningstar.

This found family has been critical to Dayum Jam’s success, especially of late—after working out of the production kitchen at Lakeside Farmers Market for the entirety of Dayum Jam’s life, Waller and their team moved out in December 2023.

While they’re in the process of transitioning into the HQ kitchen full-time, they’ve been operating out of the kitchen at Westover Hills United Methodist Church.

“The church has been really welcoming,” says Morningstar. He and the rest of the team spend as much time in this kitchen as they can, cranking out upwards of 1,240 ounces of jam in a night.

In addition to completing HQ’s kitchen, the next phase of the business will be building out the “Café” side. Waller says they plan to partner with a local bakery for bites, and one of their team members—a former coffee shop employee possessing a wealth of caffeinated knowledge—will helm the beverage program.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the new headquarters, though, is the building’s spacious backlot. There’s room enough for the Haute Dam food truck, patio tables and many a charming string light. Waller says they plan to grow tomatoes and jalapenos in the little corner garden.

“We had the back open for our block party and then during a First Friday when Gallery5 was open,” says Waller. “Gallery5 had a PLF [Party Liberation Front] fire performance and we had hot dogs at the food truck and music going. That to me is community. Seeing a glimpse of that? I know we can keep going.”

Dayum Jam HQ is located at 406 Brook Rd. and is open Thurs.-Sat. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

 Follow Dayum Jam on Instagram for the latest, and be sure to mark your calendar for upcoming TransJam events including:

Friday April 26 @ 7 p.m.: Honky Tonk Queeraoke night at Starr Hill

Sunday May 12, noon-4 p.m.: Big GAY MOM Market at Diversity Richmond

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