Olive Branch Deli 3.2

I don't think many people grow up wanting to be shopkeepers. I certainly didn't (too many keys!). It just kinda happened over time. The culmination of different experiences, jobs and encounters over time. I guess it all started with my father. Every year he would buy fresh olives from local farms and prepare them according to the same methods his family had used in Cyprus over many generations before him. One year he asked me to type out some of the recipes to share with friends and family who were also interested in curing their own batch of olives. While doing so, I happened across an article highlighting some of the many health benefits associated with olives and olive oil. Further research also revealed that South Africa was producing some amazing olive products (most notably olive oil), but that the industry was struggling to compete against much cheaper imports.

The juxtaposition of a struggling industry with a world-class product called for more research, the summary of which I submitted to an online publication called the Olive Oil Times who invited me to be a guest correspondent and a couple more articles followed. These developments eventually lead me to a marketing job at a local olive estate. It was during this period that my obsession with olive oil began. While all this was going on my father, in typical Cypriot style, was selling his olives (among other things) in the family watch business. Novelty aside (I think the local hipsters couldn't resist buying some feta from the neighborhood watchmaker), it seemed that there was a demand for quality Mediterranean products in our area. This constituted the necessary market research which would eventually form the inspiration behind the Olive Branch Deli when the right location came up in Kloof Street, Cape Town.

In addition to stocking some of the country's finest olive oils, we have evolved our concept beyond a traditional deli to incorporate seasonal and artisan products from local vendors who traditionally trade at the weekend farmer's markets. As a "community grocer", we provide local vendors with a platform to sell and market their products on a daily basis and in return we are able to offer our customers fresh and unique products sourced locally and sustainably. The best part about dealing with these guys (some more eccentric than others) is that somewhere between farm and plate, a story much like the one above, but with many more twists and turns, had to take place in order for them to get to where they are today. These are the stories which line our shelves at the Olive Branch Deli in Cape Town.