Entrepreneur couple Jessica Combest and Jay Veniard, owners of Taste It Tours found a way to make better use of their downtown space by providing the area with the first and only olive oil and balsamic vinegar shop, Urban Olive Oils and Balsamics.
Cubbies of bottles fill the wall space of the shop while a table in the middle showcases the many olive oils and balsamics to be tasted. Flavors such as bacon, mango, Persian lime and many more are infused into the oils and balsamics.
A year-and-a-half ago the couple started Taste It Tours in the space on Adams Street. The tours show groups the local food scene in downtown Phoenix. Each tour stops by four to seven different establishments that range from all different styles of cuisine and beverages.
The couple had tried to figure out a way to utilize the space where they were managing the tours as a place to sell a product instead, Veniard said. After countless ideas Combest finally came up with Urban, he said.
“Done,” Veniard said after Combest had revealed her idea. “One thing many restaurants showcase on the Taste It Tours is the accompaniment of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, so when Jessica said that downtown needed a place to get them, I knew we got it.”
Urban, located at 114 W. Adams St. Suite C-109, opened up just before Christmas, but they have already sold out of many flavors.
“The 18-year traditional balsamic is by far the best seller,” Veniard said.
The ‘tradtional’ balsamic is the base for all the balsamics except the white balsamic vinegar. The specialty behind the 18-year-aged vinegar is the consistency.
“It is very hard to find a balsamic that is as thick and smooth as ours,” Veniard said. “You’d have to go through an entire reduction process with a regular store-bought vinegar to even come close to our consistency.”
Combest even proves their point by pouring the vinegars into cups to show the difference in liquidity, which can be demonstrated for anyone who stops by, she said.
Urban offers 20 different types of balsamics and 20 different types of olive oils that they get from a distributor in southern Tucson. The balsamics are imported from Modena, Italy, which is well-known for their balsamic vinegar. The base for all the olive oils is imported from Morocco with the exception of two: a Koroneiki Greek olive oil and a Spanish olive oil.
Most of the olive oils and balsamic vinegars are $18 but they can go up to $25, depending on some of the flavors like the white and black truffle olive oils.
Veniard said he takes pride in what he sells and was adamant about making sure all his olive oils were certified with the extra virgin grade.
“The olive oil business is pretty scandalous, there is no real regulations, meaning just because a label says an olive oil is extra virgin doesn’t mean that it is,” Veniard said.
Dr. Brenda Baker of Baker Wine & Grape Analysis, a lab recommended by the California Olive Oil Council, performed tests on ten olive oils that are produced by Urban’s distributors.
“Nine out of the ten passed as extra virgin grade and the one that did not pass we immediately discontinued,” Veniard said.
Veniard uses the term “we” whenever talking about his oils and balsamics.
“When I say ‘we’ I mean myself, Jessica, the producers in Italy, Morroco, Spain, Greece, the distributors in Tucson,” Veniard said. “It’s all a part of Urban.”
Veniard said there is no catch to his oils and vinegars, they’re just good.
“My background is marketing,” Veniard said. “When I tell someone they are about to try the best balsamic vinegar, I mean it. There isn’t any other way to sell it.”
Go to Urban Olive Oils and Balsamics today, mention this article and get $3 off any bottle of oil or balsamic vinegar.
For some suggestions for how to use olive oils and balsamics from Urban, check out the HERBan Explorer.
Contact the reporter at angoe@asu.edu
