‘Let’s do something fun’: Olive oil store in downtown Libertyville celebrates 15 years of educating customers

Based on sales, the most popular olive oil at Oh, Olive! in downtown Libertyville is Milanese Gremolata, a traditional Italian flavor made with spices and a hint of mint.

“I like to mix it with our peach balsamic,” says Alecia Schuenemann, one of the four proprietors of the family-owned business. She has her own favorites — 20 olive oil varieties and 20 balsamics — and can describe each one in detail if anyone would like to know.

“I ask them, ‘What are you making tonight?’ From there, I have an idea of what to recommend” to customers, Schuenemann said.

Education is at the root of the business founded 15 years ago by Alecia’s mother-in-law, Sandra Schuenemann, and Sandra's niece, Mary Koval.

This weekend is the 15th anniversary of the shop featuring artisanal olive oils, aged balsamics and other gourmet products. But they’re also celebrating a new location at 344 Milwaukee Ave., a few blocks south of where they started.

After 37 years with Fox Lake Elementary School District 114 where she served as a teacher, principal and associate superintendent, Sandra Schuenemann was looking for a new way to use her skills in early retirement.

“I said, ‘Let’s do something fun where I can continue to teach and have another career,’” she said.

She and Koval, who worked as a secretary at District 114, shared a passion for cooking and using high-quality ingredients.

“People are very interested, especially in the last five years, in the health benefits of olive oil,” Sandra Schuenemann said. “We try to provide an educational experience for our customers.”

They checked possible locations in other communities before launching Oh, Olive! at 606 N. Milwaukee Ave., and have become one of the longer-running businesses in the commercial area.

Sandra Schuenemann said they’ve always been welcomed in town and Libertyville is a special place to do business.

“Really and truly, if it wasn't for the community, we wouldn’t be here,” she told village and business leaders during a grand reopening event Wednesday.

With the lease ending at the original location and a bigger and brighter space available, the business moved about a month ago. The business closed for only a week or so as family members “worked like dogs” to clean, paint, move the inventory and make modifications to the space, Sandra Schuenemann said.

Fresh olive oil from the current hemisphere crush — April to August in the Southern Hemisphere and October to February in the Northern Hemisphere — has been a staple since the beginning. Customer faves, like Tuscan Herb olive oil, also have been a constant and new products, like spicy Green Chili olive oil, are introduced every year.

Like other businesses, Oh, Olive! Was tested during the pandemic.

“We took phone orders and online orders. We made it work,” Sandra Schuenemann said.

Organization, customer service and other skills were regarded by many as an example of how to succeed downtown, said Pam Hume, former executive director of the MainStreet Libertyville organization.

“It’s a shining example of who we are in Libertyville — we are family,” said Mayor Donna Johnson.

“We're happy you’re still here. We hope to see you here another 15 years.”