Olive Shoppe and Ginger Grater

When strolling the charming, waterfront First Street in La Conner, you’ll come across the Olive Shoppe and Ginger Grater, and if you’re a kitchen fanatic, this is your stop. Inside, the shelves are full of accoutrement necessary to stock a good kitchen—from gadgets to cookbooks. What makes this little shop so sweet is the likeness it bears to general stores of years gone by.

The building is comprised of three spaces—a shop for kitchen items, a specialty food store, and an adjacent coffee place. Roberta and Gregg Westover, the owners, purchased the Olive Shoppe in the late 1990s. At that point it was just a small space dedicated to specialty olives and other fine foods. In 2006, they purchased the Ginger Grater, located next door, and then another adjacent space in 2017 to create Rainbow Espresso.

If olives are what you love, you’re in luck. There are several shelves that hold 26 different varieties, and here’s a bonus: The staff is happy to provide an olive tasting for you. On my visit, I sampled a Citrus Olive, a Lemon Drop Martini Olive and a Sun-Baked Olive. “A lot of people think olives are olives until they try them,” Roberta explains. “That’s why we offer samples. Same with olive oils.”

There are interesting flavors like Blazin’ Beer Hot Olives (10 oz. jar—$9.99), Ginger Martini Stuffed Olives (10 oz. jar—$11), and Smoked Bleu Cheese Stuffed Olives (10 oz. jar—$11) just to name a few. The Olive Shoppe has its own brand that the Westovers get from growers in California and buyers who purchase them from the best olive farms around the world.

For kitchen enthusiasts, the store offers interesting items such as a Japanese pot scrubber and the World’s Greatest Potato Masher, as well as cookbooks, utensils, glassware, trivets and more. Exploring the store will also unearth jams, jellies, pickled vegetables, herbs and spices, vinegars, pottery and even a nice selection of wines.

The adjacent coffee shop offers espresso drinks using Moka Joe’s coffee and baked goods from local bakers, and in the summertime, Umpqua ice cream. Nostalgic café tables are the perfect spot to sit and enjoy a treat. So, grab yourself a cup of something delightful and make a journey through the shops. You’ll certainly find a little bit of everything, and a whole lot of fun.

604 S. 1st St., La Conner
360.466.4161 | oliveshoppe.com

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