Olympia Provisions

Olympia Provisions (formerly Olympic Provisions) is an American meat and restaurant company that produces artisan charcuterie based out of Portland, Oregon.[1]

Olympia Provisions
FormerlyOlympic Provisions, OP Wurst
IndustryCharcuterie, restaurant
FoundedDecember 1, 2009 (2009-12-01) in Portland, United States
Founders
  • Elias Cairo
  • Michelle Cairo
  • Tyler Gaston
  • Nate Tilden
  • Martin Schwartz
Headquarters123 Southeast 2nd Ave,
Portland, Oregon
,
United States
Number of locations
5 restaurants, 1 production plant
Area served
United States
ProductsCharcuterie, salami, sausages, cured meats, ham, bacon, pickles
Owners
  • Elias Cairo
  • Michelle Cairo
  • Nate Tilden
  • Martin Schwartz
Websitewww.olympiaprovisions.com

Background and history

Founded in 2009 as Olympic Provisions, the company began as Oregon's first USDA salumeria in a 900 square foot production facility attached to a European-inspired restaurant in the Olympic Cereal Mill building.[2][3] The owners came from a variety of backgrounds, with Nate Tilden also co-owning Clyde Common and Elias Cairo having background as a chef and first generation Greek-American.[4][5][6] The idea began when Elias Cairo decided he wanted to open a meat plant inside of a restaurant, and he gathered a group of cofounders which included his sister Michelle, Tilden, Martin Schwartz, and Tyler Gaston.[3] Nate Tilden and Elias Cairo worked together at Castagna prior to opening Olympia Provisions, where Cairo served as head chef.[7] The company began by selling their salami exclusively at farmers' markets and in their restaurant.[8] After receiving nationwide recognition they needed to expand their production facility to meet their demand. In April 2011, Olympia Provisions opened a second restaurant alongside a 4,000 square foot production facility. Two years later, Olympia Provisions had outgrown its second production facility, and in February 2014 production moved to a 34,000 square foot building two blocks from the Southeast restaurant.[9] Currently, Olympia Provisions participates in seventeen farmers' markets throughout the Pacific Northwest. The company's products are sold in Whole Foods and Trader Joe's stores throughout the Northwest region, as well as specialty stores throughout the United States. Additionally, their "Salami of the Month Club" reaches all fifty states.

Name change

In September 2014, the company received a cease and desist notice from the International Olympic Committee, which holds the trademark for the word "olympic" in order to "protect Olympic corporate sponsors against dilution of the value".[4][10] The company had performed a name search and an LLC search when they first opened, but no trademark issue arose during their research.[5] Originally named after the Olympic Cereal Mill building which housed its first restaurant and production facility, the company agreed to a deal which allowed them to phase out and rebrand to Olympia Provisions throughout 2015.[5]

Restaurants
The founders underneath the iconic "Meat" sign at Olympic Provisions SE.
Exterior of Olympia Provisions Southeast, 2020

The company currently owns two European-style restaurants in Portland which share the company name. They are known as Olympia Provisions Southeast and Olympia Provisions Northwest.[11] The first restaurant, which opened in 2009, is located at 107 SE Washington St in Southeast Portland. Their second restaurant opened in April 2011 at 1632 NW Thurman St in Northwest Portland. In 2018, restaurant manager and sommelier, Jessica Hereth, was named as one of Food and Wine magazine's Sommeliers of the Year.[12][13]

Olympia Provisions Public House
Main article: Olympia Provisions Public House

In early 2016, Olympia Provisions opened a small bar-restaurant called OP Wurst, located in Pine Street Market.[14] The restaurant focused on frankfurters, sausages, and beer. Later that year, they opened another OP Wurst in Oregon City at Oregon City Brewing. In March 2017, a third location, and the first OP Wurst located in a stand-alone building, opened on Division Street in Southeast Portland.[15] This third location replaced Honky Tonk Taco, an unrelated taco shop started by Olympia Provisions owners Tilden, Schwartz, and Gaston, which had closed after only three months.[16][17] The location has an outdoor patio, which the bar-restaurant frequently uses to host events, and in the winter hosts a Christmas tree lot.[16][18][19] OP Wurst was rebranded as Olympia Provisions Public House in May 2018, which serves food based on owner Elias Cairo's apprenticeship in Switzerland.[20] This was partially because customers did not recognize that OP Wurst was connected to the Olympia Provisions brand.[20][18]

Melty and Meaty Sandwich Eatery

On May 4, 2018, Olympia Provisions and Tillamook Cheese collaborated and opened a food truck in Pioneer Courthouse Square in Downtown Portland.[21][22][23][18] The truck sells six types of grilled cheese sandwiches using Olympia Provisions' meat and Tillamook's cheeses.[24][18][25]

Cookbook

Olympia Provisions released its first cookbook on October 27, 2015. The book was written by owner Elias Cairo and co-author Meredith Erickson .[26] It was published by Ten Speed Press.[3] The book follows Cairo through Switzerland, where he completed his apprenticeship as a young adult, and includes recipes from the restaurants, the meat plant and his time in Switzerland.[3][27] It is split into two parts, with one part focusing on meats and another part focusing on recipes from the Olympia Provisions restaurants.[28]

Awards

Olympia Provisions has won fifteen Good Food Awards, and at one time had more than any other entrant.[29][30]

Year Nominated work CategoryAward ResultNotesRef.
2011 Loukanika Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [31]
2011 Saucisson d'Arles Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [31]
2011 Pork Liver Mousse Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [31]
2011 Pickled Corno di Toro Peppers Pickles Good Food Award Won [31]
2011 Saveur 100 Saveur 100 Won [11]
2012 Chorizo Navarre Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [31]
2013 Lomo Di Parma Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [31]
2014 Pickled Corno di Toro Peppers Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [31]
2014 Oprah's Favorite Things Oprah's Favorite Things Won [32]
2015 Salami Cotto Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [33]
2015 Salami Etna Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [33]
2016 Rigani Loukaniko Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [31]
2017 Landrauchschinken Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [31]
2018 Salami El Rey Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [30]
2018 Sommelier of the Year Food & Wine Won This award was given to Jessica Hereth [13]
2019 Saucisson Sec Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [29]
2019 Saucisson Aux Noisettes de Oregon Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [29]
2019 Green Peppercorn Pate Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [29]
2020 Rosette de Oregon Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [34][35]
2020 Chorizo Rioja Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [34][35]
2020 Salami Capri Charcuterie Good Food Award Won [34][35]
  • Olympia Provisions SE was featured on a February 2012 episode of Portlandia.[36]
  • The company was featured on the April 22, 2013 episode of Bizarre Foods America.[37][38]
  • Elias Cairo of Olympia Provisions was featured in Epicurious's Price Points as the Sausage Expert

References
  1. Stevenson, Jen. "PORTLAND CHEFS ON A FLY FISHING WEEKEND: RECIPES FOR FOOD, DRINK, AND CHEER". Oregon Live. The Oregonian. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  2. Zimmer, Erin. "A Look at Olympic Provisions, Oregon's First USDA-Approved Salumeria". Serious Eats. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  3. Tepler, Benjamin. "A First Look at the New Olympia Provisions Cookbook". Portland Monthly. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  4. Vermillion, Allecia (13 July 2015). "The Carnivore's Guide to Portland, Oregon". Conde Nast Traveler. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  5. Bakall, Samantha (21 February 2015). "Olympic Provisions to change name after cease-and-desist notice from Olympic Committee". Oregon Live. The Oregonian. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  6. Russell, Michael. "New Clyde Common chef rocks the boat, gently (review)". The Oregonian. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  7. Brooks, Karen; Rasmussen, Randy (7 July 2009). "Castagna chef to head Portland's first salumeria". Oregonian. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  8. "Olympic Provisions -Washington St". Willamette Week. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  9. DeJesus, Erin (29 August 2013). "Olympic Provisions Expands to 33k-Square-Foot Facility". Eater. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  10. DeJesus, Erin (20 February 2015). "Olympic Provisions Changes Name After Olympic Games Cease-and-Desist". Eater. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  11. "Olympic Provisions". Saveur. 28 December 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  12. Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (21 June 2019). "Two Portland Restaurants Nab Major Wine Accolades". Eater. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  13. Krigbaum, Megan. "F&W's 2018 Sommeliers of the Year". Food & Wine. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  14. McKay, Gretchen (12 March 2017). "Portland is a pleasure". Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  15. Walsh, Chad (9 March 2017). "Take a Look Inside OP Wurst's New Division Street Digs". Eater. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  16. Bamman, Mattie John (30 December 2016). "OP Wurst to Slide into Honky Tonk Taco". Eater. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  17. Bamman, Mattie John (18 October 2016). "Honky Tonk Taco Closes After Less Than 3 Months". Eater. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  18. Ross, Thomas. "Olympia Provisions Rebrands, Embraces Its Vibe". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  19. L'Arche Portland. "Volunteer at the L'Arche Portland Christmas Tree Sale". Idealist. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  20. Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (25 April 2018). "Say Goodbye to Sausage Menagerie OP Wurst; Olympia Provisions Public House Is Taking Over". Eater. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  21. Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (2 May 2018). "This Knockout Bagel Shop Just Opened on N Russell". Eater. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  22. Centoni, Danielle (22 December 2018). "10 Best Food Trucks in Portland, OR". Conde Nast Traveler. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  23. Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (11 April 2018). "Olympia Provisions Will Hawk Sandwiches from a New Food Cart". Eater. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  24. Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (May 4, 2018). "Olympia Provisions' Grilled Cheese Cart Begins Slinging Sandwiches in Pioneer Square Today". Eater Portland.
  25. Centoni, Danielle. "Pioneer Courthouse Square Food Court". Conde Nast Traveler. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  26. Cole, Katherine (18 March 2014). "The night Olympic Provisions threw a European wine party". Oregon Live. The Oregonian. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  27. Peterson, Lucas (29 April 2015). "Here Is the Cover for the Olympia Provisions Cookbook". Eater. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  28. Erin, DeJesus (26 August 2015). "Inside 'Olympia Provisions,' a Meat Curriculum From Portland's Hottest Charcutiers". Eater. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  29. Tepler, Benjamin. "Oregon Dominates the 2019 Good Food Awards". Eater. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  30. Forster, Tim (26 January 2018). "9 Portland Producers Garner Good Food Awards". Eater. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  31. "Good Food Award Winners". Olympia Provisions. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  32. Willett, Megan. "All 72 Of Oprah's 'Favorite Things' Will Cost You $13,407". Business Insider. Business Insider Inc. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  33. "Award Winners". Good Food Awards. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  34. "Volpi Named Finalist in 2020 Good Food Awards". The Perishable News. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  35. "Introducing the 2020 Finalists". Good Food Awards. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  36. Brion, Raphael (6 February 2012). "Portlandia: The Dream of the 1890s Is Alive in Portland". Eater. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  37. "Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern: Portland Travel Guide". Travel Channel. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  38. Tepler, Benjamin. "Portland, as Eaten on TV". Portland Travel. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
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