PALM BEACH GARDENS — Oil and vinegar go together like lettuce and tomato or ribbons and bows.
Oil & Vinegar owner Norman Watson chats with Leslie Philip of Jupiter at his store in The Gardens Mall. “I didn’t know there were that many flavors,” said Philip. “It is a lot of fun. The variety is overwhelming.” Philip decided on some truffle oil and basil-infused olive oil. (Bruce R. Bennett/The Palm Beach Post)The combination has spurred a new retail trend — oil and vinegar stores that offer tastings — that is heating up here in Palm Beach County.
“I never thought there were that many flavors,” said Leslie Philip, who was buying a gift for a foodie friend earlier this week at Oil & Vinegar.
The Jupiter woman combined a special truffle oil, basil-infused olive oil and date balsam vinegar — they are sold unmixed in refillable bottles — for a unique taste. All the ingredients were going into a gift basket, though she also was getting some for herself.
Norman Watson, owner of Oil & Vinegar in The Gardens Mall, shows some of the balsamic vinegars available in his store. (Bruce R. Bennett/The Palm Beach Post)In late November, both Oil & Vinegar in The Gardens Mall and The Olive Taste in Delray Beach’s Pineapple Grove district opened. Admittedly, the shops targeted early holiday shopping season to launch their efforts. But the first store to open up in CityPlace called The Olive Tap is celebrating its third holiday shopping season.
Norman Watson, owns and runs the new Oil & Vinegar, said the difference in tastes and preferences is similar to wine tasting, so he works closely with his clientele to help them choose. Once he worked in the energy industry in business development, but at 54, he’s enjoying a new career as a franchise owner.
With a generous supply of accouterments — salts, mustards, tapas forks, dehydrated buschetta, hot sauce, stuffed olives, etc. — Watson said the store is a culinary gift shop. The tasting of the oils and vinegars is key to swaying shoppers.
Europeans have considered oils and vinegars staples for hundreds of years, said Matt Stermer, president and CEO of Oil & Vinegar. U.S. consumers have experienced them in “very pre-packaged ways,” he said.
These shops dispense the oils from fusties — a stainless steel holder with a spigot — and encourage customers to taste. Once a person tries a premium olive oil, an infused oil, a genuine balsamic vinegar, the journey has begun.
“The experience that we talk about and deliver, it’s a sensory experience,” Stermer said.
Norman Watson, owner of Oil & Vinegar in The Gardens Mall, fills a bottle of basil-infused olive oil for a customer. (Bruce R. Bennett/The Palm Beach Post)
The concept was the new thing here in Florida when Cheryl Emery and husband Josh opened The Olive Tap two years ago. They’ll open a second location early next year in the Delray Marketplace under construction on west Atlantic Avenue past the Turnpike. Her family opened its first Olive Tap in Illinois eight years ago and the new store will make seven.
“We source from small purveyors to ensure we’re bringing in the very freshest oils and vinegars,” she said.
All of the stores emphasize their high quality oil varieties, their Balsamic vinegars from Modena. You can bring back the bottles for refill discounts.
Emery said the popularity of the Food Network and other cooking shows, as well as an awareness of the health benefits has made the trend spread quickly.
Samples different vinegars at Oil & Vinegar in The Gardens Mall. (Bruce R. Bennett/The Palm Beach Post)
Lori Richards had her first experience in Raleigh, N.C., about two years ago. Ultimately she got a job at the store with long-term plans to open her own.
She researched the perfect location and ended up in Delray Beach on Second Avenue three blocks north of Atlantic Avenue at City Walk. She celebrated the grand opening of The Olive Taste this week.
“A lot of people come in who have been to similar stores in other parts of the country,” she said.
[Source: The Palm Beach Post]
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