Olive Oil Divine Podcast

From Olive Oil to Lifestyle: Inside Olive Oil Divine's Culinary Universe

• Greg & Shirley Mueller • Episode 6

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More Than Just An Olive Oil Store

From humble beginnings with just 80 products to a culinary empire boasting over 300 unique offerings, Olive Oil Divine has transformed far beyond what its name suggests. Greg and Shirley Mueller, passionate owners and flavor curators, take us behind the scenes of their extraordinary specialty shop that defies expectations at every turn.

What began with premium olive oils and balsamic vinegars has blossomed into a complete sensory experience. Discover their collection of 30+ specialty pastas sourced directly from Italy and California, paired with complementary sauces and their signature olive oils. The Muellers reveal how they've expanded into unexpected territory with balsamic-based hot sauces that deliver both intense heat and complex flavors without overwhelming your palate, and a gluten-free teriyaki balsamic that transforms simple grilled vegetables into culinary masterpieces.

Step into their store or visit them online to experience firsthand how these culinary artisans are redefining what it means to "live divine" through exceptional products that elevate everyday living. Whether you're a seasoned chef seeking new inspiration or simply someone who appreciates quality ingredients, Olive Oil Divine invites you to discover how the humble olive can transform not just your meals, but your entire lifestyle.

To learn more about Olive Oil Divine visit:
https://oliveoildivine.com/
Olive Oil Divine
2517 N. Roan Street
Johnson City, TN 37601
423-707-7087

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Olive Oil Divine podcast, your go-to source for culinary inspiration. Join Greg and Shirley Muller, owners of Olive Oil Divine, as they share tips, stories and insights to make you a kitchen hero. From authentic extra virgin olive oils to rich-aged Italian balsamic vinegars, We've got everything you need to elevate your cooking. Live divine.

Speaker 2:

You might come in for a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, but what you'll leave with is inspiration for every meal. Greg and Shirley Muller reveal how Olive oil divine has grown into a full on flavor experience. Welcome back everyone. Skip Monty, co-host slash producer, back in the studio with Greg and Shirley Muller. Greg, Shirley, how's it going?

Speaker 3:

Hey Skip, it's great to be here.

Speaker 4:

Hey Skip. Nice to see you.

Speaker 2:

Good morning. Hope you guys are having a good day.

Speaker 3:

Starting off great. You've got sunshine today, isn't that awesome.

Speaker 2:

It is awesome.

Speaker 3:

It's flowers are blooming, it looks awesome outside it does.

Speaker 2:

It's a little chilly, but still very nice Loving it. So in our last episode we talked about a lot of the health benefits of olive oil and some of the things that you guys offer, but I thought we could delve a little deeper into that this episode. So Olive Oil Divine is it more than just an olive oil store?

Speaker 3:

Oh gosh, is it ever? I'll tell you, when we opened up 10 years ago, we had about 25 oils and 25 vinegars and a few little odds and ends and maybe 10 or 15 spices, maybe around 80 products, I guess, at the most. Now we're well over 300.

Speaker 3:

So we're learning that olive oil and vinegar goes with a lot of things. We've expanded into things that are just a natural fit, such as pastas. We've got over 30 different pastas. You won't find that in any grocery store probably anywhere in the country really but 30 different pastas and what goes with pastas but pasta sauces. That's right. So, yeah, we've got pasta sauces. I put my olive oil on my pasta along with the sauce, believe it or or not. There's just so many combinations and possibilities that it's endless. So, yeah, we've expanded into the pastas.

Speaker 3:

Um, you know what's olive oil is made from olives, so guess what else we got stuffed olives okay oh gosh, we've got for the lost count 18, 20, 25, something like that Different stuffed olives from California and Greece and Italy. We've got queen olives, we've got spicy olives, we've got pimento and cheese olives and pickled vegetables and pickles, so we can really stock that cabinet pretty well. And then, what else goes with food but balsamic-based barbecue sauce? Have you ever heard of balsamic-based hot sauce?

Speaker 2:

I have not.

Speaker 3:

Oh, my goodness, Because of the fact that it's barbecue-based, the flavor is just, it carries through so well. The hot sauces. They're hot I mean, they are ghost pepper, scorpion, pepper-based but they're not going to be the kind that just blow your taste buds out of your mouth. You're going to taste the flavor, you're going to be drinking some water, for sure, or washing it down with something, but the flavor just comes so through and everybody that tries them just can't believe how tasty they are. And that's the same with the barbecue sauces. So it's just an explosion. And of course, there's all kinds of other things that I'll let Shirley talk about that are more her expertise, so I'll pass it off to Shirley.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Speaker 4:

Good morning Skip.

Speaker 2:

Good morning.

Speaker 4:

Hey Skip, Greg was hinting about the barbecue sauces. There's something else that we have that is just as good as the barbecue sauces. It's the teriyaki balsamic.

Speaker 3:

Oh yeah.

Speaker 4:

That is gluten-free and that is so delicious.

Speaker 2:

On grilled onions Ooh, I bet Greg will put them on the griddle.

Speaker 4:

He'll drizzle that teriyaki over those onions and saute them a little bit. Oh, they're delicious.

Speaker 2:

Wow, you're blowing my mind with all the different flavors and stuff. How do you curate? I mean, I know you go to a lot of trouble to curate olive oils and balsamic from across the world. Do you curate your pasta and teriyaki sauce and barbecue sauce in a similar manner? How does it work?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we're always looking for something to improve what products we have. A lot of the pastas come from Italy or California. So if we get wind or we search and we find another producer who's maybe winning some accolades in food competitions, we'll reach out to them and have them send us some samples. We'll evaluate it. We'll look at the ingredients. Of course.

Speaker 3:

We try to find the healthiest products that we can that don't have preservatives and bad stuff. We're not 100% perfect and pure, but we try to get there as best as we can. It's certainly better than what we can find in the grocery stores. So we're always getting something to try, and that's the same with our oils and vinegars. Our farmers, and even new farmers that we perhaps learn about or reach out to us, will send us samples. We'll check into their certifications and the ingredients and how they're producing. If they meet our standards and we like the samples, then we'll bring it in and give it a try. If our customers like it, we keep it. So it's a work in progress that's taken hundreds and hundreds of hours to do over the years.

Speaker 4:

Wow, we're not just a food store, neither. I actually have skin care products with olive oil in it. I have shampoo, soaps, I have facial scrub or body scrubs. I just brought in a brand new product. It's called Face Mask, and I have seven different varieties.

Speaker 1:

Wow.

Speaker 4:

We have been testing them over and over and we all love them. I brought in a brand new body scrub. It's called a coconut lime scent. I mean, I have probably 15 different.

Speaker 3:

She's soft, she uses her own product.

Speaker 4:

And also there's something else for pets. I have a pet shampoo. Now, all of these shampoos, body care, even for pets. They're all natural. There's no chemicals in them at all. They have essential oils in them, so they're really good and healthy for your skin and for your pets too.

Speaker 2:

Well, I had no idea that you had skincare products and they are olive oil based, or Wow.

Speaker 4:

And then I have a bug. It's called Bug Plague Away. It is good to repel fleas, ticks and mosquitoes.

Speaker 2:

Wow, without chemicals. And how do you apply that? Is it a spray?

Speaker 4:

No, it's a lotion. You just put it on, like you put body lotion on, and I give mine two or three minutes before I go out in the yard because mosquitoes love me. But this is a great way and I do not get by it at all.

Speaker 3:

It does work.

Speaker 2:

And she smells good too. Well, that's good. I'm sure you look like you'd smell good, wow, so, wow, well, I think we could do an entire episode just on skincare products, because I had no idea.

Speaker 3:

And Skip, you know we've also got drink mixers that are non-alcoholic. Of course you can. You can add your own if you want, but all kinds of natural juice drink mixers. And did you know we had pepper nutrients, nutrition powders for those who make smoothies? We've got the full line of every powder you can imagine, from A to Z that comes from all over the world that are used for medicinal reasons or health boosting reasons or flavor reasons, so that, and you know the seasonings and the rubs and the spices that we also have. We didn't even get into those yet. You know, it's just. It goes on and on. And of course, shirley's really got a team that is doing a great job of making gifts, gift baskets and seasonal gifts Every year. We do everything in-house. We don't buy anything pre-made. We bottle, create, package and wrap and bow everything right here by hand in this store by our team.

Speaker 2:

Wow, now that is impressive.

Speaker 4:

We also do corporate baskets. We can take a corporate logo and we can add it on our label and we can put it on the bottle. So we used to be printers years ago and that's something that our expertise has allowed us to do in-house. We do all of our labeling, all of our price cards, everything here in-house. We're busy, little bees.

Speaker 2:

Wow, now that is very cool, because I could imagine corporate events, christmas parties, you know that sort of thing too.

Speaker 3:

A lot of realtors like to use this for putting their logo on their bottle as a closing gift for their clients.

Speaker 4:

All we need is their corporate logo on a vector file and we can print it and make it up.

Speaker 2:

Wow.

Speaker 4:

No charge at all, and there's no charge at all for the artwork. If you ever purchase a house, it's a nice way to gift them something.

Speaker 2:

Give olive oil instead of wine. There you go.

Speaker 3:

So when you basically white label your product with their corporate logo on it, it looks like it's their olive oil, correct, although our name does have to be on there for legal reasons. But the main portion of the front logo is their name and number or logo or whatever they would like to put. If they want to customize it, say congratulations greg and shirley on your new big house, or whatever, they can do that wow, very cool.

Speaker 2:

Well, I would love to. The store looks great, by the way and would love to possibly take a walking tour at some point, maybe in a future episode, if that's possible.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. Come back and we'll show you around. We'll show you everything we've talked about today.

Speaker 2:

All right, all right.

Speaker 4:

Sounds great Love what you guys are doing and we will see you in the next episode. Okay, skip, see you later.

Speaker 2:

See, you have a great day.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to the Olive Oil Divine Podcast podcast. Don't forget to visit us online at oliveoildivinecom for our exceptional olive oils, aged balsamic vinegars and more. If you're local, stop by our store and discover how we can make you a kitchen hero. Until Until next time, live divine.