A bulletin board near the front door of Fustini’s Oils & Vinegars captures just how enamored customers are with the downtown Traverse City shop and its products.
The question posed: "How do you use Fustini’s?" The answers, scrawled out on 3-by-5 index cards and tacked to the board, often include the word, "yum." As in, "Ice cream with espresso bean balsamic, yum!" and "Roasted garlic mashed potatoes, drizzled with truffle oil, yummy!"
It’s the kind of sentiment that Fustini’s employees hear often as shoppers peruse the shop featuring 25 varieties each of balsamic vinegars and extra virgin olive oils. Sampling is encouraged, as is asking questions of the workers.
Customers learn, for example, that extra virgin olive oil is a seasonal product; and that Fustini’s imports its oils from artisans and a small batch of producers worldwide at the peak of freshness. They discover that per tablespoon, Fustini’s balsamics have 10 calories, two grams of natural sugar, zero sodium and a great taste.
"You’re walking into an experience,” says owner Jim Milligan, who opened Fustini’s in 2008, introducing the concept of a tasting room for olive oils and vinegars to Northwest Michigan. "When you’ve finished your shopping experience, you’ve learned something, you’ve bought something of value and you’ve had fun."
Within the past year, the Fustini’s experience has expanded--literally, by doubling its shop space--and also through the printing of a cookbook,
In the Kitchen with Fustini’s, published late last year and offering countless ways to enhance your cooking through the use of its oils and vinegars.
"From the day we opened, we had customers asking about a cookbook," Milligan says.
And, so, a cookbook was born. The book was created through Milligan’s collaboration with local chef Harlan "Pete" Peterson as well as catering, culinary school and restaurant partners throughout Michigan. Recipes range "from the simple to the sophisticated, familiar ingredients as well as some that may be new to you."
"It was very worthwhile," Milligan says of publishing the cookbook. "It’s helped our current customers to find ways to use the products to enhance the flavors of their meals. And it helped with their holiday gifts."
One of his favorite uses? Mixing Fustini’s peach-infused white balsamic vinegar with sparkling water. For a meal, Milligan will make an omelet with chipotle-infused olive oil and Tunisian harissa flavored oil, while strawberries marinated in balsamic vinegar with a little sugar and placed on mascarpone cheese is a simple dessert favorite.
The cookbook helped Milligan decide to expand what his store offers--Fustini’s has added flavored pasta to its shelves.
"Now you can come in here, grab some flavored pasta, balsamic pesto, some oil and you can go home and create a simple meal with some grated cheese," Milligan says.
Fustini’s oils and vinegars also are available at area restaurants, including Amical, Apache Trout Grill, Phil’s on Front and Aerie.
"Our products are on the table for bread service, to use instead of butter. It’s more nutritional and flavorful," he says.
For Milligan, 59 and father of two grown daughters, the idea of opening a tasting room for olive oils and balsamic vinegars stems in part from his corporate travels while working for 3M Imation in Minnesota.
"I spent a considerable amount of time in Europe and there were these olive oil, mustard, honey shops--tasting rooms," he says. "It started in Europe and you’re seeing more of it here in the United States."
With his then-wife Lane, Milligan learned as much as he could about oils and vinegars, and decided to open a shop downtown. The store’s name comes from the Italian word for the stainless steel containers in which olive oils and vinegars are stored.
"She’s an outstanding cook and she’s also very creative," Milligan says of Lane, who helped shape the Fustini’s brand.
Milligan now is the sole owner of Fustini’s, and his post-retirement career choice is proving especially rewarding, he says. There are now locations in Holland, downtown Petoskey and in the Kerrytown Market & Shops in Ann Arbor.
He’s looking ahead to sharing Fustini’s beyond Michigan, too; one of his favorite places to visit is Mexico, and with friends made through his past travels, he would like to introduce the products to the Mexican market. He also envisions building on the success of
In the Kitchen with Fustini’s by producing another book this year--with input from those who savor his oils and vinegars, of course.
Heather Johnson Durocher is a freelance writer specializing in health and psychology, well-being, relationships, parenting and retail/business topics.
Photos by Brian Confer.