Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Taylor.
Mary, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
We created Salt & Olive as a way to share our food obsession, to introduce customers to choices and flavors that are creative and exciting to work with. Salt & Olive was designed to be reminiscent of the open air markets in the Mediterranean… the sights, the smells, the sounds, all welcoming and delicious.
In my previous business life, I spent many years traveling in Spain, Italy and Greece – and when I was ready to leave corporate life and try building my own business, I wanted to re-create that kind of experiential food experience here in the US.
We’re proud to be a part of the Bow & Arrow neighborhood in The Square; our customers are neighbors and friends, students and staff at Harvard or MIT or families and tourists visiting Cambridge. The community is curious, international and always open to new flavors and ingredients.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Small business is both challenging and rewarding. In the age of Amazon, it requires creativity and freshness to entice customers to visit a brick and mortar location – so we are an experiential destination. You can taste most everything in the store; we have weekly wine tastings, all our salts and spices and teas are visually displayed, fresh and organic.
The struggle and the opportunity – is to create an atmosphere that people want to visit, to help them re-create a fondly remembered meal or to help them plan a special food experience.
We rely on Cantabrigians to support local businesses and to choose having an in-person experience versus a session at your computer.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Salt & Olive is a unique specialty food and wine shop in Harvard Square; we feature unusual ingredients, flavors and gifts from around the culinary world. Our shop has one of the largest selections of artisan salts in the US, and we also carry over 100 organic spices, and teas. Our entire store is set up by flavor profile… so you can taste or make purchases based on your own palate or what meal or experience you’re creating. Our wine collection is also curated by flavor profile to help folks not only choose something lovely, but also to focus on what they will pair their wine with… what do they want to create?
Our store is a 360 degree tasting experience; we’ll help you pair salt with olive oils or wines with spices. Our mantra is to help folks create, to experience, to savor… and most importantly – to share. We also focus on working with small, family-run businesses and purveyors; we believe in supporting local and the independent spirit of small business.
What were you like growing up?
A tomboy, absolutely. Always playing – whether in the neighborhood or on teams. Outside always won out over inside. Athletics and music were my go-to’s growing up – and now, I’ve added food and wine to my obsessions.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1160 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA
- Website: saltandolive.com
- Phone: 857-242-4118
- Email: info@saltandolive.com
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