Monday, September 24, 2007

North American Stores Selling Freshly Bottled Olive Oil

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Car dealerships do it for potential buyers: They call it a "test drive." Wineries do it, and call them "tastings." Home sellers and Realtors do it, too -- they call it an "open house."


The common theme here is "Try Before You Buy." And it is an approach that's steadily coming to the world of olive oil in the United States. This may be because, in terms of extra virgin olive oil, Americans are becoming more refined in their palates. We're well traveled, well fed, and more and more inclined to act like discerning gourmets. But with so many olive oils now on the market and available online -- from Blood Orange infused oils from Tunisia to rare single-estate oils from Italy -- more folks are appreciating the opportunity to taste before they buy.

Below is a list of stores that "I Love Olive Oil" has found to sell olive oil, in a setting where you can sample before you buy and the proprietors will bottle -- on the spot -- whatever you like. In some cases, the stores offer online sales (though, of course, it's hard to sample before you buy in such instances.)

We hope this list can grow with feedback from readers and businesses; to get on the list, the main requirement is that the store must be dedicated to the business of selling many kinds of olive oils in settings where consumers can taste which ever one they wish. If you know of a store that fits this criteria, please leave a note in the "comments", and I will follow up. Thank you. - Costas, of iloveoliveoilblog.com

ILoveOliveOilBlog.com seeks stores to list where olive oil is sold "on tap." Send email to costasthegreek(at)gmail(dot)com, if you know of a store in your area.

*NOTE: Stores in Canada are towards the bottom of this list!

UNITED STATES

ARIZONA
  • Cucina Olive Oils
    The Boulevard Shops at Chandler Fashion Center
    3355 W. Chandler Blvd., Suite 2
    Chandler, AZ 85226
    Phone: 480-855-3448
    Web: cucinaoliveoils.com

CALIFORNIA
  • The Olive Bar
     232 East Campbell Ave.
    Campbell, CA 95008
    Phone: 408.370.1901
    Fax: 408.370.1911
    Web: the-olivebar.com

ILLINOIS
MAINE:
MISSOURI:

NEW JERSEY
WISCONSIN
CANADA

BRITISH COLUMBIA:

Askom Valley Herb Farm
Lillooet B.C. Canada
250-256-4906
(sells Basil Olive Oil's Golden Olive Eleni)

Benton Brothers Fine Cheese
2104 West 41st Avenue
Vancouver B.C. Canada
604-261-5813
www.bentonscheese.com
(sells Basil Olive Oil's Golden Olive Eleni)

Hazelmere Organic Farm
1859 184th Street Surrey B.C. Canada
604-538-3018
(sells Basil Olive Oil's Golden Olive Eleni)

McLeans Specialty Foods
426 Fitzwilliam St
Naniamo B.C. Canada
250-754-0100
www.mcleansfoods.com

TAP Essence of Thyme
9183 Glover Road
Fort Langley B.C. Canada
604-888-6800
www.tapstore.ca
(sells Basil Olive Oil's Golden Olive Eleni)

MANITOBA:

Lorenzo’s Specialty Foods Ltd
1060 St Mary’s Road
Winnipeg Manitoba R2M 3S9
204-253-1300
www.lorenzosfoods.ca
(sells Basil Olive Oil's Golden Olive Eleni)
-end list-

© by www.iloveoliveoilblog.com. All rights reserved.

Freshly Pressed by By Costas the Greek at 9:01 AM
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13 opinions:

Ido said...

Fortunately this is a “globally growing trend” ("oilization"?).

Whereas before you could find specialized olive (oil) shops only at the - olive press, these days one can find one or two in the city centers.

September 25, 2007 11:30 AM
Tracy Schrayer said...

Here is another one in ILLINOIS

Olive & Well
133 N. Oak Park Avenue
Oak Park, Illinois 60301
P: 708.848.4230
F: 708.848.4232
E: info@oliveandwell.com

Check it out!! http://www.oliveandwell.com/

October 2, 2007 8:19 PM
Costas the Greek said...

thanks Tracy. Another "oilerie" in Illinois...? Wow. Why are there so many in that state? Any theories? -- Costas.

October 2, 2007 9:17 PM
Costas the Greek said...

p.s. I added Olive & Well to the official list. Thanks for the tip!

October 2, 2007 9:25 PM
Bob said...

WOW! Only 10? Couldn't find any in NYC? There must be a least TWO in NYC. This article is a great idea. I hope more submissions come in. I'll see what I can dig up in NYC and Boston.

November 14, 2007 9:01 PM
Costas the Greek said...

Yeah, Bob. I found a bunch of stores where you can sample olive oil, but not the kind where you can buy on tap. I'm sure there are stores like that in NYC (and Boston). In fact, I'd bet you can go to the Greek parts of Astoria, NY, for instance, and find little Greek shops selling fresh olive oil.

Seriously, this list depends on readers tipping me off to stores in their areas. I'd like this list to be a top resource for people who are looking for fresh olive oil. It will also track what I see to be an emerging trend of these types of shops increasingly becoming common in the United States.

Thanks for your help! - Costas

November 15, 2007 2:12 PM
Telan said...

The COOC has a number of California tasting rooms (mostly mid and northern California, the exception being a We Olive in Riverside) listed on their website:

http://www.cooc.com/consumers_tasting.html

February 11, 2008 11:54 AM
Costas the Greek said...

Thanks, Telan. This list is dedicated only to stores that freshly bottle in the customer's presence. Not stores that have tastings, and then sell you pre-bottled olive oil.

Do you know if any of those stores listed on the COOC do such a thing -- offer samples from fustis and then bottle oil in front of the customer?

It's a slightly different trend -- and retailing format -- I'm trying to keep track of on this blog. The video I produced, in the right sidebar, of Carter & Cavero's store in New Jersey, is a good example of the stores I'm trying to maintain a list of.

If you find such a store in your area, please let me know. Take a picture, and write up a short review, and I would be happy to post on my blog. Thank you for posting! Costas

February 11, 2008 3:28 PM
Anonymous said...

Yes, We Olive sells bulk olive oil and vinegar out of the fustinos. Customers may fill their bottles on site.

February 27, 2008 12:45 PM
Gary Brown said...

Hello,

My name is Gary Brown and I am the founder of We Olive, the finest place for everything olive. I see that there is a discusion about We olive here and what we do or do not offer. Just to clarify, we have bottled oil in the store that you can smaple and buy, as well as our own oils in fustinos that you can bottle on site. Our oils are all ceritifed by the COOC and the fustinos are cleaned each time they are emtied, which is becoming very often. We also have an aged balsamic vinegar that is amazinf offered in both a bottle or a fill your own from the fustino. So there you go. Thank all of you for your support. There will be a We Olive in your town soon! Call for info 877 OLIVE 01.

Gary Brown

February 28, 2008 4:22 PM
jd said...

Costas,
I brought a bourbon bottle (previously emptied of original contents) to il Scalino in Little Italy, wherein they filled it with oil from a large container. Very tasty oil, btw.
Though I'm not certain this meets your criteria, as there is, as far as I know, only one type of olive oil bottled on site.
il Scalino
313 South High Street
Baltimore, Maryland
410-547-7900
info@ilscalino.com
http://www.ilscalino.com/

Note: Il Scalino usually has bottles if you don't bring your own. They charge a nominal deposit to use one of theirs, but only once, not on refills.

Great blog, Costas.

June 28, 2008 7:35 AM
By Costas the Greek said...

Thanks, JD!

I'll check it out! Did they tell you anything about the oil, i.e. what region it is from and maybe when it was harvested/produced? And if came from the farm of the restaurant owner or family member or their village? One thing I'm always interested in is the provenance of the oil: where it came from and how it got to the U.S.

June 28, 2008 8:38 AM