BELLEVILLE – Olive Oil Marketplace celebrated its grand opening at 18 E. Main St. in Belleville on Feb. 3-4, 2017.
The business, which is about to celebrate its fifth anniversary at 108 W Third St. in Alton, opened the second location in late November. Owner, Tim Meeks, said the move was to accommodate his customers in Belleville, who were purchasing oils, balsamic vinegar, spices and rubs from a Belleville consignment shop called Local Lucy’s. When Local Lucy’s moved a few blocks down the road, Meeks said he took over its former building and converted it to a second Olive Oil Market Place.
“We’re pretty excited about going into Belleville,” Meeks said. “There are a lot of things going on there. The city and community are very involved in the downtown area. We already had a lot of customers in that area.”
Olive Oil Marketplace’s Belleville location greatly resembles its Alton store, with similar interiors complete with testing areas and displays. Meeks said he waited until February to host the grand opening due to the sheer amount of Christmas-themed activities around Belleville during the holiday season.
“We opened November 1,” Meeks said. “We held our grand opening on February 3 and 4. That’s when we did our ribbon cutting. Belleville has a lot going on around the holidays with light displays and trolley rides, so we decided to hold off a month or two down there.”
Meeks said his customer base in the southern store was wanting such a location in Belleville for quite some time. He said the expansion from a section of Local Lucy’s to an entire store of his own will continue his St. Clair County expansion.
“I feel like we can bring our quality products down there even more,” he said. “That’s our whole mission in Belleville. We do it so people can get a better understanding of our oils and balsamic vinegar as well as our spices and rubs.”
In Alton, Meeks said he is “gearing up” for the store’s fifth anniversary. He said it will take place on the weekend of Alton Main Street’s All Wheels Drive-In Car Show, which Meeks said is the weekend of June 9-11. During one of those days, he said a ceremonial five-year ribbon cutting will take place as well as some grilling.
“We’re gearing that one up right now, and will move on from there with everything else,” he said. “We’re doing it one hurdle at a time.”
