February 6, 2025 • 10 mins
Meet Greg and Shirley Mueller, owners of Olive Oil Divine
Discover the secrets behind crafting divine culinary experiences with the Olive Oil Divine Podcast! This episode promises an exploration of the world of premium olive oils and balsamic vinegars with Greg and Shirley Mueller, alongside our co-host Skip Mauney. Embark on a flavorful journey that celebrates a decade of dedication and passion for quality ingredients. From internationally acclaimed Greek oils to surprising finds in California, southern Georgia, and northern Florida, learn about the meticulous sourcing process that ensures only the finest products make it to your kitchen.
Join us as Shirley shares the delight of educating our customers about the health benefits and rich flavors of olive oil, and how these choices can transform your cooking. Get a glimpse into our lives beyond the store, including sun-soaked travels and cherished moments with our pets. It's more than just a business—it's about living and sharing the divine experience of good food and enriching life's moments. Whether you're a culinary novice or a seasoned chef, this episode is sure to spark your creativity and elevate your cooking repertoire.
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
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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 (00:40):
Welcome everyone.
I'm Skip Monty, co-host andproducer here in the studio with
Greg and Shirley Muller.
Greg.
Shirley how's it going?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Great.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Hey, good morning, skip, Good morning.
Hope you're having a great day.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Coffee's drunk and we're having a great day.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
All right.
Well, mine's still being drunk.
So over the years, Greg Shirley, you guys have grown quite a
remarkable business withregional and national
distribution of your products.
However, we might have somelisteners that might not be
familiar with your full journey,so let's just take it from the
top.
Could you share a littlebackground about your company
(01:17):
and what you guys do?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Sure.
Well, our company is 10 yearsold this year actually we're
hitting that milestone andCheryl and I started it as a
love for the olive oil thatwe've grown up using all of our
lives, and we had a specialstore down in Hilton Head Island
that we used to visit all thetime and, long story short, we
decided that we wanted to getinto that business.
So we opened up Olive OilDivine right here in our
(01:40):
hometown in Johnson City, and weare purators of world-class
olive oil from around the world,countries that everybody's
familiar with, such as Italy andGreece and Spain.
And in addition to that,naturally, balsamic vinegar is a
complement to olive oils.
We are purveyors of that aswell, and we have about anywhere
(02:01):
between 10 and 15 differentfarms and growers around the
world that we source from.
So we're not like the typicalolive oil store that most people
are accustomed to.
We search for the best of thebest, and that has grown to
expand our line into such thingsas pastas and stuffed olives
and all kinds of culinary treatsthat just complement olive oil.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So we're a one-stop shop, really for unique items
that you can't find in mostgrocery stores.
Wow, well, congratulations, bythe way, on 10 years.
That's definitely anaccomplishment, thanks.
Is there a particular country?
Like you said, you source fromall over over some of the best
in the world.
What are there?
Any countries that produce thebest olive oil?
Speaker 4 (02:49):
well, one of our oils is actually an internationally
acclaimed and award-winning oilwhich comes from Greece.
Actually, three or four of themare.
So yes, the Greece and Italyare usually high in the running.
California's actually donepretty good, believe it or not.
So we can't forget our ownpeople right here on in the
running.
California's actually donepretty good, believe it or not.
So we can't forget our ownpeople right here in the good
old US of A oh wow.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
California, Actually I would guess Central California
is probably a pretty goodsource of olives.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
No, it is.
We get some really fine olivesfrom there and also, believe it
or not, southern Georgia andNorthern Florida is the right
climate for olive trees, sothere's some groves down there
that are starting to produce.
We're constantly monitoringthose and they're still young,
but when they get to oursatisfaction, we'll look at
(03:38):
introducing them as well.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Awesome.
So, shirley, how's your ridebeen with the olive?
Speaker 3 (03:41):
oil ride.
Has that been an adventure?
It has been an adventure, butit's a great adventure.
I really enjoy teaching ourcustomers and educating them on
the quality of olive oil that wesell, but just giving them an
education of why choosing ahealthier oil will actually add
(04:01):
flavor to your food.
We enjoy recipes around here.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
We eat pretty good here.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Oh, I bet I can't even imagine Well speaking of
eating when you're not busycurating olive oil and balsamic
vinegar what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Well, we like to travel a little bit, which we do
.
We like heading to South andhit the beaches.
We just enjoy our downtime,downtime being around the house.
We are pet owners, so we enjoyour pets as well, but we also
enjoy sharing God's word.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Awesome.
I was going to ask first aboutthe pets how many and what kind
of pets do you have?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Well, we have cats and we have seven.
Wow.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Wow seven cats.
They actually have us, they ownus.
We're just there for theirconvenience I understand.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I have one cat and I am absolutely here to serve him,
and my daughter was justvisiting and she brought her cat
with her.
So I've got two so far, but Ihave two dogs as well but skip.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
we're joyous servants , so don't let them fool you oh
yeah Well, greg Shirley, youmentioned serving the Lord.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
I know that that's a big part obviously behind you.
It says a lot.
You're very busy.
But in your own words, why areyou doing this?
Besides just a successfulbusiness, what's your higher
purpose?
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Well, skip, we started this business with God
first and foremost in ourthoughts and we wanted to
glorify Him, hence part of ourname, olive Old Divine, divine
being a spiritual word.
So we not only wanted to make aliving for ourselves, but we
wanted to share the love ofChrist with everybody that came
into our store that wasinterested.
Now we look at this store assomewhat of a mission in a way,
(05:53):
because for one, we're sittingin what we call our divine room,
and this is in the back of ourstore.
It's open to the public.
Anybody can come in while we'reopen and this is just a little
safe, quiet little room that weuse to pray and meditate and
people can leave prayers andCheryl and I will pray over them
very often.
(06:14):
But this is our way of givingback to the Lord for putting us
in business, and I tell you whatit's come back in spades,
because God has blessed us in somany ways.
When we put him first and it'simportant to us to put him first
, and not just our business butin our lives when we lock the
door and go home, we don't justhang it up here.
So it's a 24-7 venture for usand it's just joyous to us to be
(06:39):
able to share it together, pluswith our customers and the
public at large.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Well, this is who we are and I don't want to hide
that I'm a believer and I wantto share it with people that
come in that is having a hardday or just need that downtime.
So you know, God does ask us tobe his disciples and to share
his word and I don't want tokeep him out of any part of my
(07:07):
life and, with this being mybusiness, this is his business,
not mine.
Amen.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Well, I got to tell you your divine room is
absolutely beautiful and, withthis being my business, this is
his business, not mine.
Amen.
Well, I got to tell you yourdivine room is absolutely
beautiful.
I had not seen it before, but Ilove it.
Do you have a lot of trafficfrom folks coming in that use
your divine room?
Speaker 4 (07:25):
We have a prayer journal right here that anybody
can leave a prayer in.
Every one of those pages isfull of prayer requests.
Yes, we get a lot of traffic inhere and a lot of people come
in and they can't believe thatus, as a small business, are
taking this square footage anddedicating it to the Lord versus
trying to sell product.
But we wouldn't have it anyother way.
This room was purposefullydesigned from the very beginning
(07:48):
to be this room for this reason, and God has just blessed us so
tremendously by doing that andstaying faithful to our original
plan and sharing it.
So, yes, we've shared Christwith a lot of people who have
just been curious about whatthis room is, so it's catching
on wow, that's amazing to me.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
I wonder if there's any way to even know this.
I'm sure there's not a lot of.
If there's any way to even knowthis, I'm sure there's not a
lot of olive oil focusedbusinesses.
You know brick and mortar kindof stores in the country or in
the world, but even fewer thathave a divinity room where you
can go in and pray.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
That's incredible.
I'm not aware of any.
I know there's been a fewpeople that have come in and
spoken with Shirley that wereimpressed with our room and they
said well, we're going to goback and we're going to put this
in our business, so it'scatching.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
During the COVID.
When COVID hit, I had achiropractor that came in and
saw the Divine Room and it wasan inspiration, and he did the
same thing in his business.
He has a prayer room for hiscustomers as well, and you know,
that's.
That's all I want to do isshare.
And if he gives someone theidea or someone that says, you
(09:02):
know, I want to take that leapof faith and they do it, then
that's fine.
That's all I've done is Iplanted a seed.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Well, and that's all it takes is that seed to plant
as small as a mustard seed?
Well, greg, shirley, I know youguys are busy.
You've got a lot going on, so Iappreciate the time you took
today to be with us and ourlisteners, and we'll catch you
in the next episode where wewill dive into some frequently
asked questions, which I'm surethere are a lot about your
(09:33):
unique business.
Oh yeah, look forward to it.
Absolutely, and I hope you guyshave a blessed rest of the day.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
You too.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Thank you, Skip.
Blessings to you, brother.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Thanks for tuning in to the Olive Oil Divine 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 next time, live divine,Live Divine.
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 (00:40):
Welcome everyone.
I'm Skip Monty, co-host andproducer here in the studio with
Greg and Shirley Muller.
Greg.
Shirley how's it going?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Great.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Hey, good morning, skip, Good morning.
Hope you're having a great day.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Coffee's drunk and we're having a great day.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
All right.
Well, mine's still being drunk.
So over the years, Greg Shirley, you guys have grown quite a
remarkable business withregional and national
distribution of your products.
However, we might have somelisteners that might not be
familiar with your full journey,so let's just take it from the
top.
Could you share a littlebackground about your company
(01:17):
and what you guys do?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Sure.
Well, our company is 10 yearsold this year actually we're
hitting that milestone andCheryl and I started it as a
love for the olive oil thatwe've grown up using all of our
lives, and we had a specialstore down in Hilton Head Island
that we used to visit all thetime and, long story short, we
decided that we wanted to getinto that business.
So we opened up Olive OilDivine right here in our
(01:40):
hometown in Johnson City, and weare purators of world-class
olive oil from around the world,countries that everybody's
familiar with, such as Italy andGreece and Spain.
And in addition to that,naturally, balsamic vinegar is a
complement to olive oils.
We are purveyors of that aswell, and we have about anywhere
(02:01):
between 10 and 15 differentfarms and growers around the
world that we source from.
So we're not like the typicalolive oil store that most people
are accustomed to.
We search for the best of thebest, and that has grown to
expand our line into such thingsas pastas and stuffed olives
and all kinds of culinary treatsthat just complement olive oil.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So we're a one-stop shop, really for unique items
that you can't find in mostgrocery stores.
Wow, well, congratulations, bythe way, on 10 years.
That's definitely anaccomplishment, thanks.
Is there a particular country?
Like you said, you source fromall over over some of the best
in the world.
What are there?
Any countries that produce thebest olive oil?
Speaker 4 (02:49):
well, one of our oils is actually an internationally
acclaimed and award-winning oilwhich comes from Greece.
Actually, three or four of themare.
So yes, the Greece and Italyare usually high in the running.
California's actually donepretty good, believe it or not.
So we can't forget our ownpeople right here on in the
running.
California's actually donepretty good, believe it or not.
So we can't forget our ownpeople right here in the good
old US of A oh wow.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
California, Actually I would guess Central California
is probably a pretty goodsource of olives.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
No, it is.
We get some really fine olivesfrom there and also, believe it
or not, southern Georgia andNorthern Florida is the right
climate for olive trees, sothere's some groves down there
that are starting to produce.
We're constantly monitoringthose and they're still young,
but when they get to oursatisfaction, we'll look at
(03:38):
introducing them as well.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Awesome.
So, shirley, how's your ridebeen with the olive?
Speaker 3 (03:41):
oil ride.
Has that been an adventure?
It has been an adventure, butit's a great adventure.
I really enjoy teaching ourcustomers and educating them on
the quality of olive oil that wesell, but just giving them an
education of why choosing ahealthier oil will actually add
(04:01):
flavor to your food.
We enjoy recipes around here.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
We eat pretty good here.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Oh, I bet I can't even imagine Well speaking of
eating when you're not busycurating olive oil and balsamic
vinegar what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Well, we like to travel a little bit, which we do
.
We like heading to South andhit the beaches.
We just enjoy our downtime,downtime being around the house.
We are pet owners, so we enjoyour pets as well, but we also
enjoy sharing God's word.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Awesome.
I was going to ask first aboutthe pets how many and what kind
of pets do you have?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Well, we have cats and we have seven.
Wow.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Wow seven cats.
They actually have us, they ownus.
We're just there for theirconvenience I understand.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
I have one cat and I am absolutely here to serve him,
and my daughter was justvisiting and she brought her cat
with her.
So I've got two so far, but Ihave two dogs as well but skip.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
we're joyous servants , so don't let them fool you oh
yeah Well, greg Shirley, youmentioned serving the Lord.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
I know that that's a big part obviously behind you.
It says a lot.
You're very busy.
But in your own words, why areyou doing this?
Besides just a successfulbusiness, what's your higher
purpose?
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Well, skip, we started this business with God
first and foremost in ourthoughts and we wanted to
glorify Him, hence part of ourname, olive Old Divine, divine
being a spiritual word.
So we not only wanted to make aliving for ourselves, but we
wanted to share the love ofChrist with everybody that came
into our store that wasinterested.
Now we look at this store assomewhat of a mission in a way,
(05:53):
because for one, we're sittingin what we call our divine room,
and this is in the back of ourstore.
It's open to the public.
Anybody can come in while we'reopen and this is just a little
safe, quiet little room that weuse to pray and meditate and
people can leave prayers andCheryl and I will pray over them
very often.
(06:14):
But this is our way of givingback to the Lord for putting us
in business, and I tell you whatit's come back in spades,
because God has blessed us in somany ways.
When we put him first and it'simportant to us to put him first
, and not just our business butin our lives when we lock the
door and go home, we don't justhang it up here.
So it's a 24-7 venture for usand it's just joyous to us to be
(06:39):
able to share it together, pluswith our customers and the
public at large.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Well, this is who we are and I don't want to hide
that I'm a believer and I wantto share it with people that
come in that is having a hardday or just need that downtime.
So you know, God does ask us tobe his disciples and to share
his word and I don't want tokeep him out of any part of my
(07:07):
life and, with this being mybusiness, this is his business,
not mine.
Amen.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Well, I got to tell you your divine room is
absolutely beautiful and, withthis being my business, this is
his business, not mine.
Amen.
Well, I got to tell you yourdivine room is absolutely
beautiful.
I had not seen it before, but Ilove it.
Do you have a lot of trafficfrom folks coming in that use
your divine room?
Speaker 4 (07:25):
We have a prayer journal right here that anybody
can leave a prayer in.
Every one of those pages isfull of prayer requests.
Yes, we get a lot of traffic inhere and a lot of people come
in and they can't believe thatus, as a small business, are
taking this square footage anddedicating it to the Lord versus
trying to sell product.
But we wouldn't have it anyother way.
This room was purposefullydesigned from the very beginning
(07:48):
to be this room for this reason, and God has just blessed us so
tremendously by doing that andstaying faithful to our original
plan and sharing it.
So, yes, we've shared Christwith a lot of people who have
just been curious about whatthis room is, so it's catching
on wow, that's amazing to me.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
I wonder if there's any way to even know this.
I'm sure there's not a lot of.
If there's any way to even knowthis, I'm sure there's not a
lot of olive oil focusedbusinesses.
You know brick and mortar kindof stores in the country or in
the world, but even fewer thathave a divinity room where you
can go in and pray.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
That's incredible.
I'm not aware of any.
I know there's been a fewpeople that have come in and
spoken with Shirley that wereimpressed with our room and they
said well, we're going to goback and we're going to put this
in our business, so it'scatching.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
During the COVID.
When COVID hit, I had achiropractor that came in and
saw the Divine Room and it wasan inspiration, and he did the
same thing in his business.
He has a prayer room for hiscustomers as well, and you know,
that's.
That's all I want to do isshare.
And if he gives someone theidea or someone that says, you
(09:02):
know, I want to take that leapof faith and they do it, then
that's fine.
That's all I've done is Iplanted a seed.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Well, and that's all it takes is that seed to plant
as small as a mustard seed?
Well, greg, shirley, I know youguys are busy.
You've got a lot going on, so Iappreciate the time you took
today to be with us and ourlisteners, and we'll catch you
in the next episode where wewill dive into some frequently
asked questions, which I'm surethere are a lot about your
(09:33):
unique business.
Oh yeah, look forward to it.
Absolutely, and I hope you guyshave a blessed rest of the day.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
You too.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Thank you, Skip.
Blessings to you, brother.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Thanks for tuning in to the Olive Oil Divine 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 next time, live divine,Live Divine.
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