Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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two sister stores in Portland, Oregon) also stocks high-end artisanal chocolate from around the globe, with small pieces running from $4 to $25 per bar. The Meadow also has the country's largest selection of bitters, Newman says, and the business regularly offers classes and events. atthemeadow.com O LIVE BROOKLYN A range of olive oils are on tap in this Park Slope, Brooklyn, storefront. "Growing up Italian in New York, I thought I knew olive oil—but I had no idea," recalls Greg Bernarducci, co-founder and co-owner of this Park Slope premium olive oil emporium along with his wife, Elizabeth Weiss. Restless in his previous career as a TV writer and producer, Bernarducci became interested in olive oil after wandering into a California olive oil specialty shop, where he was inspired by the taste and freshness of the product. Three years ago, O Live Brooklyn made its debut. "We carry seven types of extra-virgin olive oil with different f lavor characteris- tics, from mild to robust, as well as many more infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars," says Bernarducci. "All our products are made for us with no additives using sustainable growing methods, and the olives come from all over the world depending on the season, such as California, Spain, and South America." The olive oils and vinegars are on tap; customers can sample each one and ask staff to fill up a container with their pick. Prices range from $12.95 for a 200- milliliter container to $34.80 for 750 milliliters. Almost all of O Live's sales come from neighborhood shop- pers, olive oil enthusiasts, and natural-food fans, but the store does a small wholesale business as well. Bernarducci and Weiss already have plans to open a second Brooklyn location. olivebrooklyn.com THE PICKLE GUYS This Lower East Side institution offers many flavors of house-made pickles. Decades ago, Essex Street on the city's Lower East Side was nick- named the Pickle District, with up to 80 sellers hawking briny vegetables. Today, The Pickle Guys is the last store standing. At this 1,000-square-foot ode to vinegar and vegetables, customers are greeted by giant wooden barrels filled with dozens of varieties of house-made pickles: from traditional cucumbers (with varying flavor profiles, such as sweet and sour, hot, and with horseradish) to pick- led olives, garlic, okra, mango, tomatoes, and more. When Alan Kaufman started, the neighborhood had a mostly Orthodox Jewish population, but now new neighborhood residents and tourists keep business steady, he says. In addition to a second outpost in Brooklyn, online sales are also strong; Kaufman and his team ship pickles anywhere in the U.S. The top seller: "the classic sour pickle," he says, priced at 75 cents apiece. pickleguys.com POPBAR A refreshing ice-pop shop in Greenwich Village. Instead of barrels of ice cream, the glass display freezer at the front counter of this sunny shop is filled with dozens of colorful frozen bars, each standing upright like a flower in bloom. A mix of Old World gelato and the iconic American ice pop, Popbars come in 40 flavors, depending on the season, including classics like vanilla and chocolate, Italian-inspired almond and hazelnut, and fruit-forward sorbets such as mandarin orange and peach. "Only natural ingredients and fresh fruit go in the gelato pops," says Reuben BenJehuda, co-founder of Popbar. Prices range from $3.49 to $3.99 each, and 50 cents will score you unlimited creative toppings like shredded coconut, biscotti crumbles, and brownie chunks, or dips such as dark, milk, and white chocolate. The Carmine Street store has been open for five years and is the only New York location, but Popbar has grown to include another dozen shops in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Asia. On a busy stretch of one of New York 's last remaining Italian enclaves, the shop has managed to build a devoted fan base of "popoholics," says BenJehuda. pop-bar.com Esther Crain is a freelance writer who covers health, food, and lifestyle. O Live Brooklyn The Pickle Guys SUMMER 2015 119