Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/589641
76 | NOVEMBER 2015 nshoremag.com photographs by Brad Mintz BY KILEY JACQUES Newburyport Olive Oil Company and sister shop Port Plums appeal to foodies with a penchant for haute ingredients and first-rate kitchen accoutrements. Specialty Blend Opened just under a year ago, Newburyport Olive Oil Company has rounded out the Tannery shop- ping experience by offering over 70 different olive oils, specialty oils, and 100 percent natural Modena balsamic vinegars, as well as select New England-made condiments the likes of which include wild beach plum jam, custom organic spice blends, hot sauces, truffle finishing salt, and even bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup. Co-owner Karen Shernan—one of the first employees at Bread and Circus Natural Foods, which has since become Whole Foods—also has experience as a private caterer. "I've always had this huge foodie side to me," says the oil and vinegar aficionado. Karen co-owns the shop with her daughter, Katie Shernan, herself a natural-born foodie. "We've always liked the oils and the vinegars," says Karen, noting their venture was spawned from the simple premise that "it would be fun." Together they purchased the existing but floundering store in December 2014, and turned it into a go-to source for Newburyport's culinarily inclined. Newburyport Olive Oil Company, with its sleek, minimalist vibe, is straightforward in its offerings— rows and rows of oil-filled stainless steel fustis (bulk dispensers) under which sit empty glass bottles at the ready. Karen buys her oils from a top-notch distributor, Veronica Foods, in Oakland, California, where she was required to spend a week- end learning about olive oils before they would agree to sell to her. Newburyport Olive Oil Company (left) now shares space with sister company Port Plums (above).