ottawa foodies

There are two (that I know of) shops that specialize in only olive oils and balsamic vinegars in Ottawa .... is this a foodie trend ? passing fad ? phenomenon ?

I can understand how coffee (and tea) shops do well and they are also market niches ... it's volume. Many coffee consumers make for many transactions.

Margins must be good to keep these market niche places alive.

Please help me understand what's going on here. I seem to be at a loss.

I can't imagine them sticking around for long, unless they can do steady business over the internet.

I always figure they're run by early retirees or spouses whose others' wanted them out of the house, and who display more whimsy and optimism than common sense. See also: cat shoe stores, we-put-your-stuff-on-eBay-for-you shops, and cupcakeries.

But best of luck to them!

flandroid said "I always figure they're run by early retirees or spouses whose others' wanted them out of the house, and who display more whimsy and optimism than common sense." Wow what a sweeping generalization! I'm edging closer to retirement myself and have no desire to open and olive oil and balsamic vinegar shop - does that make me the exception?...

Haha, I was being flip. You're probably safe.

Although if I might offer some business ideas:

- crusts-only bakery
- fake food for window displays, made of lifelike human hair
- billfolds/wallets made of several actual bills, glued together

You can have those for free, I won't sue.

Whether it's a trend or not, it's certainly not new. One of the very first 'foodie' things I remember doing was going to an olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting at someone's home. Back in the 90's there used to be an Ottawa company called Table Music; it was initially home-based and then briefly they had a storefront on Bank St. in the Glebe (anyone remember them?). Back then, there wasn't the variety that you can get today in many stores specialising in imported goods.

There's certainly big differences in olive oils and vinegars and we get accustomed to certain brands and it becomes a big deal if they become suddenly unavailable.

I'm not sure how well they'll do in Ottawa, but have been to a successful and great one while n vacation.
This was the shop we went to www.oilerie.com/ and have been going to for a couple years on vacation. It's in a small tourist locale, where a lot of the top restaurants use and promote their products, which I think is part of what keeps them going.

We went on a foodie tour in Florence, Italy and did a sampler of different olive oils and balsamic vinegars. It was one of the favourite parts of our vacation to Italy-and a year later I am still saving (hoarding??) the last few drops of an unbelievably delicious white balsamic vinegar. Hope these spots in Ottawa can make it! But even in Italy_I'm not sure..The place we went to was called Conti and they do have internet sales. Great family business!

When I stopped by the one on Wellington a couple of months ago, I asked what type of Olive Oil they use and they said Moroccan and it surprised me.

Hello all,
I am one of the owners of Emulsify - The Oil & Vinegar Experience on Wellington. I am new to the forums...

I certainly have no intention of using this great forum for any promotion or selling, but I am happy to answer any questions members may have regarding our store, similar stores, Olive Oil industry, etc.

First off - there is a tremendous new wave coming to North America in terms of education and consumption of Olive Oil.

We have essentially been defrauded and misinformed by the massive oil conglomerates (the spanish-italian behemoths) for some time now. Consumers are not getting what they are paying for in mass market stores.
The few main issues;
Studies have shown approx. 60-75% of what is bottled and on store shelves is either a) gone "rancid" - not fresh b) is not actually even 100% olive oil (it gets "cut" with cheaper, refined oils such as seed oils or c) certainly not "extra virgin". This is not only annoying because you arent getting what you are paying for, but more importantly you aren't receiving the health benefits of fresh extra virgin olive oil.

So I feel our main role in the industry is to protect and inform consumers. The best way to do this is to educate on what makes a good oil, how to look for them, purchase them and most of all - taste them! Getting access to the freshest and best olive oils is a difficult task - even for a niche store like ours. So we are doing all that hard work for the consumer so that you can have access to choices and information..in a personal way!

And lets not forget the true Aged Balsamic Vinegars. If you haven't been in the store to try them - you may not understand :-). 25 star rated balsamics with up to 80% grape must (vs 20-40% in others) are delightfully thick, smooth and sweet....We are the only retailer offering access to this Modena producer in Eastern Ontario.

But let's keep this informational and social - happy to discuss anything related to the topic! Feel free to email me at samples@emulsify.ca if you wish.

Cheers!
-Chris

I'm glad you chimed in here Chris. We consumers do need educating about extra virgin olive oil - for too long we have been deceived by believing labels on bottles of extra virgin olive oil, particularly the mass market oils in grocery stores that most consumers buy (much the same can be said for balsamic vinegars). I have tasted the difference in oils and balsamic vinegars from a store (in Halifax) similar to yours and am about to run out so I will be in your store or the other store eek =;0) soon. Having just planted my garden greens this week I want good oil and vinegars for all the salads we'll be eating this summer!

Chris didn't mention Tom Mueller's book "Extra Virginity - The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil" but it is a provocative look into the world of olive oil and should interest people who are interested in getting what they pay for when buying real evoo, and may also interest people in seeking out stores like yours to learn about extra virgin olive oils from various quality producers and regions around the world. I highly recommend it.

Here's a story in the Halifax paper with a bit of interesting info that includes comments by (the apparently controversial) Tom Mueller and the owner of the Halifax oil store Liquid Gold: thechronicleherald.ca

After spending almost a month in Italy, I can say that the majority of oil and vinegar you can buy at the grocery store here is... well... pretty bad. Especially "balsamic" vinegar. We had some true balsamic from Modena, aged 25 years and another that was 14 years... unreal! It is syrupy, has a sweet edge to it and then POW you get the acidity. It's a fantastic product and very much UNLIKE the thin, watery extremely acidic crap you get in almost everywhere labeled as 'balsamic of modena'... try one that is "tradizionale", you will taste the difference.

I've been to Emulsify and for what it's worth i was impressed with the products and the setup that encouraged tasting. We left with a truffled olive oil and an espresso infused balsamic that we're enjoying.

I can't see a market for dozens of such stores (ie cupcakeries) but I'm happy to have two nearby.

I'm really enjoying the education here. Many thanks to all the contributes, so far.

Here is something I found not only interesting but provocative. A kind of summary of what has happened to the awakening or enlightenment of the olive oil industry.

From here:

truthinoliveoil.com

"Mr. Mueller;
... Come the economical competition frenzy in olive oil markets around the new world, all kinds of scrutinization began. In the beginning the bona fide endeavors were aimed at improving the quality which yielded useful results. However the more competitive the market became and the more greed encroached upon it, the scrutinty went out of control to the point of censuring what is not "ours". I find this very sad and unfortunate.
...
Who is to say what is bad or inedible but the so called universal standards which have been set by but a few conglamorate mega companies who do the final purchasing and therefore monitor the standards according to their own advantage. This is malicious sectoral politics which any person with a trace of common sense should be able to decipher. One should be extra keen to shy away from being a pawn of such politics.
Best regards
Mehmet Comert
Ayvalik, Turkey"

Also ... two sides of the coin:

www.truthinoliveoil.com/

www.oliveoiltimes.com

I remembered the olive oil (tasted like EVOO) I had at a taverna in Greece. The owner of the restaurant know the owner of the olive grove who is the producer of the olive oil. yumm on grilled fish.

I just came back from Syracuse and while there, after some prodding, because I wasn't really that interested, visited a shop called Olive. They too specialize in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. That was an eye-opener, and I left there with three different vinegars, serrano and honey, maple and strawberry. For sure I will be visitng the Ottawa specialty stores.

Five years later, Emulsify has come and gone. Rising from the ashes in it's old location (1283-B Wellington St W), is aurelius food co.. (Emulsify 2.0?)

'food co.' may hint at items beyond oil and vinegar ... so not a two trick pony.

I wish them well at what appears to be a challenging business endeavour.

It is sad that Emulsify closed. Their product was the best in Ottawa. I look forward to visiting Aurelius and seeing what they have to offer.

There is a Greek import store on Bank St. near Gilmour (Athena? I think) and they have a lot of premium olive oils and have tastings available. I've only bought one from there but was very happy with it.