One Couple’s Small Texas Store Provides Friendship and Community

by Carol Hutchison

Laura steps up on her ladder, dips the brush into a can, and gently strokes fresh paint inside the building she’d just bought with her husband, Richard. The door propped open, fresh air flowing in, she looks around, so happy with how the store is coming together. As she paints, she hears a few cowboys talking as they wait for a lunch table at the restaurant next door. “An olive oil company? In Coleman, Texas? That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard. I’ll give it three months.” The sting of that comment hit her square in the gut. Laura had put in six years of research, travel, hard physical work, and many prayers to open Coleman Olive Oil Company. She felt so strongly that she was on the path God meant for her, that she pressed on anyway and tried to push those comments so far away that she couldn’t feel them anymore.

When Coleman Olive Oil Company finally opened in a small Texas town in 2021, Laura and Richard never guessed in a million years what their store would end up meaning to the community, the friendships that would form, and the minds that would change about their little store.

Laura became interested in extra virgin olive oils and vinegars for their health benefits years ago when she worked as a flight attendant. After retirement, the idea of a store grew and she began searching for oils and vinegars. “I quickly realized that they were not all created equal. Not everything you buy is unadulterated olive oil,” Laura explains. She set out to find 100% extra virgin olive oil to offer their community and beyond. “I wanted our oils and vinegars to be truly 100% premium quality so our customers would get all the health benefits,” Laura says.

After six years of research, Laura decided on a small olive grove in Tunisia in North Africa, which is in the Mediterranean and only about 230 miles across the sea to Sicily. “I was opening in a small town and I knew I’d need to offer them something a little more interesting, so that’s where the infusions came in. I chose the grove in Tunisia because they produce a very soft, light, olive oil and I knew it wouldn’t compete with the flavors,” Laura explains. Coleman Olive Oil Company offers many oils infused with flavors like garlic, bacon, black truffle, and even chocolate. Laura’s line up of high quality white and balsamic vinegars come from Italy and are infused with flavors like apricot, honey raspberry, and bourbon.

Opening up an olive oil and vinegar store in a tiny Texas town wasn’t easy. “I knew it was going to be challenging. I wondered how I was going to come into a tiny town and say, ‘Here, drink vinegar.’ But I thought the best way was to just be myself and be prepared. I had developed recipes long before we opened—dishes that you could eat at anyone’s Texas home on a Sunday after church,” Laura explains.

As curious customers started coming in, Laura began to explain the health benefits of her products. “My dream for the store from the very beginning has never been about sales. It’s been about educating customers about the health benefits of our products. We’ve had customers with a variety of medical issues. They’ll say, ‘The doctor said I have to start eating healthy, like now.’ Sometimes I ask if I can pray with them. I say, ‘I get you, and let’s pray about it before we do all this,’” Laura says. She often gives her cell number out for questions or in case someone forgets what to do with the strawberry peach balsamic they purchased. “When you’re available and accessible for questions, prayer or recipes, that’s when the friendships form. They know that the store is like a soft landing for them,” Laura says.

It’s been three years since Laura and Richard opened the store. They’ve now opened a second store in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. When asking Google for things to do in Coleman, Texas, the Coleman Olive Oil Company pops up with high ratings and positive reviews, evidence of their success and popularity. “We’ve had customers come from all over Texas, the Austin, Houston and Fort Worth areas. We even had some people from Florida who were traveling and routed their trip to stop here at our store. And last quarter, we shipped to 32 states!” Richard says. “People might call from Beaumont to ask how late we’re open because they’re about to leave,” Laura adds.

Laura was so nervous about opening. One day she talked with her pastor about her fears and reservations. “Although I knew God had led us to do this and led us to Coleman, the initial response from the public was less than desirable. The pastor told me that if I had been led to do this, it will be blessed as long as we kept our focus on Him and doing His work. We prayed constantly,” Laura remembers. The pastor still refers to the store as their ministry and Laura loves that. Among their best regular customers is the doubting cowboy and his family.

The door opens and a couple enters the store. The older man smiles big and introduces himself to Laura. “I’m Jake! It’s my 78th birthday and my wife and I drove three and a half hours to your store for my birthday! We follow you on Facebook,” Jake says. Laura welcomes them with her usual smile and warm Texas hospitality.

We leave the store knowing that we’d just met a great example of the kind of Texans who shape our small towns and who are indeed a soft landing for all they meet. The selection of wonderful tasting extra virgin olive oils and vinegars with flavorful infusions and many health benefits bring them in, but we’re betting that the authentic personalities of the owners help keep them coming back for more.

Coleman Olive Oil Company is a must visit! But if you can’t visit the store, check out their website for all the many flavors of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegars, gourmet foods, recipes and more! colemanoliveoilco.com

Laura’s Most Popular Recipe

Coleman Olive Oil Company Steak Marinade

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Pinch of salt & fresh ground pepper

Yields 1 cup of marinade

Mix all ingredients and place in a large freezer bag or tightly sealed shallow container. I prefer a freezer bag for more even coating. Marinate steaks for at least 4 hours for best flavor. Overnight is my personal favorite marinating time. I prefer our Smoked infused balsamic for steaks and venison but any balsamic will suffice.

Enjoy!

 

Richard and Laura Taff

 

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