Owner, Steve LehrhoffOlive That! And you will too. ;) A new gourmet shop is moving into one of Montclair’s most charming spaces, 246 Bellevue Avenue, the former location of The Garden Shop.
Olive That! and more, is more than just a great name and cute logo. The gourmet shop/café will specialize in superior quality extra virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars, in addition to infused vinegars and oils, exotic sea salts, high quality breads, and more.
Husband and wife team, and residents of Verona, Steve Lehrhoff and Jennifer O’Sullivan, became smitten with the quaint space and knew this was the site for Olive That! And I must agree, the high ceilings, original windows, and brick sidewalk exude warmth and old-world charm.
Before Steve and Jennifer became oil and vinegar enthusiasts, Steve was the road manager for Elton John. In his travels around the world, he fell in love with high quality olive oils and balsamic vinegars that “are so different from anything we have available here.” Steve was further inspired to bring this product to Montclair by his friends at The Filling Station in Chelsea Market.
To learn more about the olive oil and balsamic vinegar industry, Steve immersed himself in the study, even going so far as to take a class at the Robert Mondavi Institute at UC Davis.
Year round oil flavors will include Blood Orange, Meyer Lemon, and Chipotle. Varietals will include Extra-Virgin oils from Greece, Spain, Morocco and California. The selections at Olive That! will change seasonally with flavors such as Cucumber Melon Balsamic Vinegar, Mango Balsamic Vinegar, and Citrus Habenero oil in the Spring and Summer months. For Fall and Winter, there is a Cranberry Balsamic and Cinnamon Pear Balsamic. The exotic salts are worthy of mention as well, notably the Espresso Sea Salt and Lime Infused Sea Salt - perfect for that al fresco Margarita!
According to Lehrhoff, “The flavors are amazing! I tried the espresso balsamic vinegar and it was incredible. I couldn’t wait to pour it on my ice cream!”
A .375 ml bottle of olive oil or vinegar is estimated to cost $18. Olive That! And More plans to open on June 1, 2012.