The old saying that “when one door closes, another opens,” became music to the ears of businessman Dave Drees over the winter. That’s when Drees, who owns and operates The Olive Cart in both downtown St. Joseph and in downtown South Haven, learned that his St. Joe neighbor was going to retire, putting her space on State Street in the central business district up for grabs. With the closing of her doors at State Street Antiques, Dave had the golden opportunity to open a new door to his own enterprise at The Olive Cart.
Drees didn’t hesitate to step up and claim the space, knocking down the neighboring wall and nicely expanding his popular showcase of a broad array of high quality extra virgin olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars for gourmet cooking fans. Now the expansive tasting room has even more space to offer a unique blend of tapenades, glazes, stuffed olives, pastas, sauces, mustards, spices and much more.
The expansion of the St. Joe store at 421 State Street was finished a couple of weeks ago, and Drees immediately launched a remodeling of his South Haven store at 424 Phoenix Street in downtown South Haven, where they just reopened to a fresh new look on Thursday, March 4th.
When warmer weather is an every day thing, the downtown St. Joe store will also get an exterior facelift to brighten the space for shoppers to the district.
Asked about what he will do with the larger St. Joe showcase space, Drees says, “So far my confirmed new products list is quite large and I am still adding to it for new items coming in this year. Most of these items will be arriving within the next couple of weeks and we are excited to be bringing these in for our customers.”
As Drees and his team expand their line up, you’ll find in the house his full line of spice blends, meat rubs and sea salt…a new line of Meal Kits…a new line of Bread Kits…and more. The Olive Cart will continue to expand a line of handmade pastas, expanding options in the variety of jams and jellies, plus expanding lines of gourmet mustards, stuffed olives, and newly arriving sauces.
Also inbound is a new line of extra virgin olive oil soaps.
At the Olive Cart, Drees says, “Healthy and delicious cooking has always been at the forefront of our focus.” He sees the local shops as a natural fit for their passion in helping customers develop and appreciate great cooking skills, great taste combinations and healthy cooking alternatives.
The passion of The Olive Cart is to carefully select each and every oil and balsamic in the house, and the promise that all gourmet items are their own recipes using locally-grown Michigan fruits and herbs whenever possible. The Olive Cart’s pantry line offerings are also their own creations and tested in their personal kitchen with hand crafted, not mass produced products offered daily.
Drees adds, “Our product line represents the superior quality and delicious flavors that we expect in fine food.”
You can learn more, or even shop from the convenience of your own home or office by clicking this link for a great line of products from The Olive Cart: http://www.olivecart.com
