Kamala Harris smelled spices and dried some tears in Old City ahead of her book tour stop

A year ago, Kamala Harris browsed spice blends trailed by a mob of reporters at Penzeys, a spice shop in Pittsburgh, where she stopped as she was preparing for one of the most highly anticipated moments of the 2024 campaign: her debate with now-President Donald Trump in Philadelphia.

Thursday, before the second stop on her national book tour recounting the tumultuous campaign, the former vice president popped into another Penzeys, this time in Old City.

The security detail was smaller. So was the reporter gaggle observing the former Democratic nominee as she sniffed an autumnal spice blend and noted that some cocoa powder can really go a long way in a pumpkin recipe.

Harris’ tour promoting her campaign memoir, 107 Days, which was released this week, has been a reintroduction on auditorium stages, TV studios, and small businesses. It’s her chance to tell her side of the story, she said in a brief interview at Penzeys.

“We don’t realize how unprecedented that election in 2024 was,” she said ahead of her book event with Dawn Staley at the Met Philadelphia.

“History is going to write about this. It’s part of American history, those 107 days, and it was important to me that my voice … experience be present in the way that it’s written.”

Harris’ stop in Philadelphia was the first time since the election that she had been in Pennsylvania, a state where she spent more time than any other during her 107-day campaign.

For some area Democrats who happened to be spice shopping, it was a welcome return.

Kirk Sutton, 64, had a $50 gift card to the spice shop and was invited to stick around along with his daughter, Heather, to meet the former vice president Thursday.

He kept one eye on his illegally parked car, wary of the Philadelphia Parking Authority, and the other looking out for Harris.

When she arrived, the retired Atlantic City police lieutenant, who had been happily sharing his recipe for chicken Sorrentino, got unexpectedly emotional.

“Your voice, it’s just so calming,” Sutton said, his own voice cracking. “It’s just so good to hear you.”

Harris put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re still living, right? We love our country, right? We’re going to be OK.”

Harris’ tour has riled some Democrats for its under-the-hood look at a historic campaign with candid and sometimes critical descriptions of former President Joe Biden’s team, his initial decision to run for reelection, and unflattering descriptions of fellow Democrats.

It has also fueled speculation about a potential 2028 comeback, as her book both promotes her as a candidate and scrutinizes potential future rivals for the nomination.

Harris gave a frank assessment of Gov. Josh Shapiro in the book, noting he came off as someone who might not do well in a No. 2 role.

Shapiro, who was a finalist to be Harris’ running mate before she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has often been floated as a future contender for the presidency.

Harris said Thursday she has spoken with Shapiro since the election, describing him as an “incredible leader” and “such an important voice for Pennsylvania in this moment.”

She has been mum on whether she will run again in 2028. She didn’t even want to wade into what traits she thinks the next leader of the party should have.

“We have lots of stars, all who play a different role, and I think that the conversation about like … when is the Messiah coming? It’s not productive.”

She preferred, she said, to focus on the moment.

And the book tour has become her moment to preach hope to a base that is reeling.

Heather Sutton, 23, talked to Harris for several minutes about her struggles finding a job as an English teacher after graduating from Rowan University. “It’s a little rough right now,” she said, “I’m hoping within the next year or so …”

Harris tried to reassure the father and daughter. “One of the reasons I wrote [the book] was so we can remember how we felt as a country,” Harris said, “and no election, no circumstance, no one, can diminish that light in us, right?”

The stop was a full-circle moment of sorts. The liberal spice shop chain sells “Resist” T-shirts alongside “Transgender Remember” vanilla sugar packets and “Tsardust Memories: Russian Style Seasoning Cover Up.”

Penzeys became the center of controversy last year when Republicans flooded it with bad reviews after Harris’ Pittsburgh visit.

On Thursday, a salesperson asked Harris if she was interested in the “Jan. 6″ spice blend. She settled on a salt-free spice mix for her father-in-law, who has a heart condition, and a fall baking blend set for her son and daughter-in law.

After paying, she stepped into the muggy Philadelphia air and a crowd that had assembled on Market Street snapped photos and shouted “Kamala!”

Sutton watched from inside. He said he left feeling a little more hopeful — and without a parking ticket.