On your next road trip, head to the shores of beautiful Lake Minnewaska in downtown Glenwood and stop at the new Minnesota Olive Oil Company store.
Take all the time you want – your taste buds will thank you!
Yes, one could spend quite a while exploring all the flavors and variations of olive oil and vinegar. Flavors of the world come to Glenwood with balsamics from Modena, Italy, and oils from different continents. Owner Amy Winter does her research to find the best products for her customers and it shows in the variety on the shelves.
“It was actually my husband’s idea to open an oil & vinegar store,” Amy said. “I knew I wanted to open some sort of retail store but didn’t know what. In April of 2019 we went on a date weekend and stopped at an oil & vinegar store. We loved it and at that point, he suggested I should open that kind of store.”
A few months later, the notion was reality. Amy is so thankful. “My family (husband, kids, mom, uncle, sister-in-law) have spent many hours making the store what it is and helping work any time I need,” she said.
Amy and her husband Tony both grew up in nearby Hoffman. Amy went to West Central Area High School, followed by North Dakota State University where she earned a bachelor’s in Interior Design.
Life took them to the Twin Cities. “I worked in interior design for a short time before working for Medtronic for 5 years. I then started a photography business.” Married in 2009, the city scene just didn’t fit, so in 2014 they decided they wanted to be closer to home. “While we loved living in the metro, moving here has given us so much more opportunity. We love Glenwood and decided that Glenwood was where we wanted to raise our family.”
Their 20-acre hobby farm has goats, chickens, a dog and a cat. “We’ve also had tree frogs, turtles, ducks and are currently nursing a garter snake back to health. Our home is over 100 years old so we’ve had fun fixing it up,” she said.
Back to MN Olive Oil Co. “I was excited to move into more of a retail space but wish I would have known what a process it would be to get a food license. It was not easy or quick…but worth it.”
What advice do you have for local entrepreneurs? “Ask for help,” she says. “I’ve talked with a few other owners of similar stores for insight into the business. And I quickly got burnt out trying to work the store every day, keep up with the books, fill bottles, social media, purchasing, marketing, home life, etc. I hired a couple of amazing part-time workers so I can focus on other business aspects and life in general.
“Taking risks is really the only way to see what you’re actually capable of,” she continued. “You’ll never wonder ‘what if’ if you just try.” she said. “And it’s never too late to change paths. While you might not know what that path looks like right away, you’ll find the way and somehow things always work out how they were supposed to. Hard work always pays off.”
Amy says working with, supporting and partnering with other businesses in the community is something she holds at the top of her priority list. “It is the best way to run my own small business and has given so much more back to me, from connections to support and encouragement. I am so proud of all the small businesses in this part of Minnesota,” she said.
She keeps the COVID pandemic in perspective. “We opened full time on Oct. 14th, 2019. We did close for a couple of months at the start of the pandemic. However, the same day our store closed our website launched.”
Being closed actually helped shorten the learning curve for her online shop. “We offered shipping and curbside pickup which helped us stay afloat. And Glenwood has welcomed us with open arms,” she said.
Amy continues to flex her entrepreneurial spirit. “In the next five years, I’d love to purchase a cool VW van and take MN Olive Oil Co on the road, delivering to local communities,” she said.
That’s one food truck we’d love to see in the region, right?