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

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

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
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 andinsights to make you a kitchen
hero.
From authentic extra virginolive oils to rich-aged Italian
balsamic vinegars, We've goteverything you need to elevate

(00:27):
your cooking.
Live divine.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
You might come in for a bottle of extra virgin olive
oil, but what you'll leave withis inspiration for every meal.
Greg and Shirley Muller revealhow Olive oil divine has grown
into a full on flavor experience.
Welcome back everyone.
Skip Monty, co-host slashproducer, back in the studio
with Greg and Shirley Muller.

(00:58):
Greg, Shirley, how's it going?

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Hey Skip, it's great to be here.

Speaker 4 (01:03):
Hey Skip.
Nice to see you.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Good morning.
Hope you guys are having a goodday.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Starting off great.
You've got sunshine today,isn't that awesome.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
It is awesome.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
It's flowers are blooming, it looks awesome
outside it does.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
It's a little chilly, but still very nice Loving it.
So in our last episode wetalked about a lot of the health
benefits of olive oil and someof the things that you guys
offer, but I thought we coulddelve a little deeper into that
this episode.
So Olive Oil Divine is it morethan just an olive oil store?

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Oh gosh, is it ever?
I'll tell you, when we openedup 10 years ago, we had about 25
oils and 25 vinegars and a fewlittle odds and ends and maybe
10 or 15 spices, maybe around 80products, I guess, at the most.
Now we're well over 300.
So we're learning that olive oiland vinegar goes with a lot of
things.
We've expanded into things thatare just a natural fit, such as

(02:00):
pastas.
We've got over 30 differentpastas.
You won't find that in anygrocery store probably anywhere
in the country really but 30different pastas and what goes
with pastas but pasta sauces.
That's right.
So, yeah, we've got pastasauces.
I put my olive oil on my pastaalong with the sauce, believe it

(02:20):
or or not.
There's just so manycombinations and possibilities
that it's endless.
So, yeah, we've expanded intothe pastas.
Um, you know what's olive oil ismade from olives, so guess what
else we got stuffed olives okayoh gosh, we've got for the lost
count 18, 20, 25, somethinglike that Different stuffed

(02:41):
olives from California andGreece and Italy.
We've got queen olives, we'vegot spicy olives, we've got
pimento and cheese olives andpickled vegetables and pickles,
so we can really stock thatcabinet pretty well.
And then, what else goes withfood but balsamic-based barbecue

(03:04):
sauce?
Have you ever heard ofbalsamic-based hot sauce?

Speaker 2 (03:08):
I have not.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
Oh, my goodness, Because of the fact that it's
barbecue-based, the flavor isjust, it carries through so well
.
The hot sauces.
They're hot I mean, they areghost pepper, scorpion,
pepper-based but they're notgoing to be the kind that just
blow your taste buds out of yourmouth.
You're going to taste theflavor, you're going to be
drinking some water, for sure,or washing it down with
something, but the flavor justcomes so through and everybody

(03:31):
that tries them just can'tbelieve how tasty they are.
And that's the same with thebarbecue sauces.
So it's just an explosion.
And of course, there's allkinds of other things that I'll
let Shirley talk about that aremore her expertise, so I'll pass
it off to Shirley.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Okay.

Speaker 4 (03:46):
Good morning Skip.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Good morning.

Speaker 4 (03:49):
Hey Skip, Greg was hinting about the barbecue
sauces.
There's something else that wehave that is just as good as the
barbecue sauces.
It's the teriyaki balsamic.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 4 (03:59):
That is gluten-free and that is so delicious.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
On grilled onions Ooh , I bet Greg will put them on
the griddle.

Speaker 4 (04:09):
He'll drizzle that teriyaki over those onions and
saute them a little bit.
Oh, they're delicious.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
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 lotof trouble to curate olive oils
and balsamic from across theworld.
Do you curate your pasta andteriyaki sauce and barbecue

(04:38):
sauce in a similar manner?
How does it work?

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Yeah, we're always looking for something to improve
what products we have.
A lot of the pastas come fromItaly or California.
So if we get wind or we searchand we find another producer
who's maybe winning someaccolades in food competitions,
we'll reach out to them and havethem send us some samples.
We'll evaluate it.
We'll look at the ingredients.
Of course.

(05:00):
We try to find the healthiestproducts 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 whatwe can find in the grocery
stores.
So we're always gettingsomething to try, and that's the
same with our oils and vinegars.
Our farmers, and even newfarmers that we perhaps learn
about or reach out to us, willsend us samples.

(05:21):
We'll check into theircertifications and the
ingredients and how they'reproducing.
If they meet our standards andwe like the samples, then we'll
bring it in and give it a try.
If our customers like it, wekeep it.
So it's a work in progressthat's taken hundreds and
hundreds of hours to do over theyears.

Speaker 4 (05:36):
Wow, we're not just a food store, neither.
I actually have skin careproducts with olive oil in it.
I have shampoo, soaps, I havefacial scrub or body scrubs.
I just brought in a brand newproduct.
It's called Face Mask, and Ihave seven different varieties.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (05:56):
We have been testing them over and over and we all
love them.
I brought in a brand new bodyscrub.
It's called a coconut limescent.
I mean, I have probably 15different.

Speaker 3 (06:12):
She's soft, she uses her own product.

Speaker 4 (06:14):
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 atall.
They have essential oils inthem, so they're really good and
healthy for your skin and foryour pets too.

Speaker 2 (06:32):
Well, I had no idea that you had skincare products
and they are olive oil based, orWow.

Speaker 4 (06:38):
And then I have a bug .
It's called Bug Plague Away.
It is good to repel fleas,ticks and mosquitoes.

Speaker 2 (06:48):
Wow, without chemicals.
And how do you apply that?
Is it a spray?

Speaker 4 (06:53):
No, it's a lotion.
You just put it on, like youput body lotion on, and I give
mine two or three minutes beforeI go out in the yard because
mosquitoes love me.
But this is a great way and Ido not get by it at all.

Speaker 3 (07:05):
It does work.

Speaker 2 (07:11):
And she smells good too.
Well, that's good.
I'm sure you look like you'dsmell good, wow, so, wow, well,
I think we could do an entireepisode just on skincare
products, because I had no idea.

Speaker 3 (07:21):
And Skip, you know we've also got drink mixers that
are non-alcoholic.
Of course you can.
You can add your own if youwant, but all kinds of natural
juice drink mixers.
And did you know we had peppernutrients, nutrition powders for
those who make smoothies?
We've got the full line ofevery powder you can imagine,

(07:42):
from A to Z that comes from allover the world that are used for
medicinal reasons or healthboosting reasons or flavor
reasons, so that, and you knowthe seasonings and the rubs and
the spices that we also have.
We didn't even get into thoseyet.
You know, it's just.
It goes on and on.
And of course, shirley's reallygot a team that is doing a
great job of making gifts, giftbaskets and seasonal gifts Every
year.
We do everything in-house.

(08:02):
We don't buy anything pre-made.
We bottle, create, package andwrap and bow everything right
here by hand in this store byour team.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
Wow, now that is impressive.

Speaker 4 (08:15):
We also do corporate baskets.
We can take a corporate logoand we can add it on our label
and we can put it on the bottle.
So we used to be printers yearsago and that's something that
our expertise has allowed us todo in-house.
We do all of our labeling, allof our price cards, everything
here in-house.
We're busy, little bees.

Speaker 2 (08:36):
Wow, now that is very cool, because I could imagine
corporate events, christmasparties, you know that sort of
thing too.

Speaker 3 (08:45):
A lot of realtors like to use this for putting
their logo on their bottle as aclosing gift for their clients.

Speaker 4 (08:52):
All we need is their corporate logo on a vector file
and we can print it and make itup.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (08:58):
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 (09:15):
Give olive oil instead of wine.
There you go.

Speaker 3 (09:16):
So when you basically white label your product with
their corporate logo on it, itlooks like it's their olive oil,
correct, although our name doeshave to be on there for legal
reasons.
But the main portion of thefront logo is their name and
number or logo or whatever theywould 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 (09:36):
Well, I would love to .
The store looks great, by theway and would love to possibly
take a walking tour at somepoint, maybe in a future episode
, if that's possible.

Speaker 3 (09:46):
Absolutely.
Come back and we'll show youaround.
We'll show you everything we'vetalked about today.

Speaker 2 (09:55):
All right, all right.

Speaker 4 (09:56):
Sounds great Love what you guys are doing and we
will see you in the next episode.
Okay, skip, see you later.

Speaker 2 (09:59):
See, you have a great day.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
Thanks for tuning in to the Olive Oil Divine Podcast
podcast.
Don't forget to visit us onlineat oliveoildivinecom for our
exceptional olive oils, agedbalsamic vinegars and more.
If you're local, stop by ourstore and discover how we can
make you a kitchen hero.
Until Until next time, livedivine.