The ‘graze craze’ sparks new Tri-Cities charcuterie party board shop
Wild Olive’s Charcuterie Kingdom, inspired by a tasty but expensive meat-and-cheese plate served at a Tri-Cities winery, has opened its own shop.
The mother-daughter team of Tina Beverly and Jessie Schuh moved Wild Olive’s to 3306 N. Swallow Ave. in Pasco’s industrial east side this summer, two years after creating the business in leased kitchen space in Kennewick.
They’ll celebrate their new home with a grand opening 5-8 p.m., Oct. 21.
Wild Olive’s began in 2021 at Red Mountain Kitchen, the shared commercial kitchen space in downtown Kennewick.
It specializes in artfully-arranged charcuterie plates and what the owners call grazing tables. It offers plates serving one person up to table-sized boards that can serve an entire wedding party of 300.
Love of food
Beverly and Schuh built the business on their shared love of cooking and baking. Beverly brings the eye of a floral designer to arranging meats, cheeses and other food. Schuh brings a background in catering.
“It’s about making it pretty. That’s what people pay us for. It’s the presentation,” Schuh said.
They created the business after Schuh happened to call Beverly while she was eating at a local winery.
The sampler plate was tasty, but overpriced. She spied opportunity.
“We should start a charcuterie business,” she recalled telling her daughter on the phone.
Wild Olive’s, named for Beverly’s granddaughter, soon followed. The team credits operating in the leased quarters at Red Mountain for letting the build the business on a shoestring budget.
In time, they moved to Cafe Magnolia at the Cynergy Building in south Kennewick.
Amicable split
Wild Olive’s and Cafe Magnolia split amicably when they outgrew the tiny kitchen space they shared.
They turned to Pasco and identified a 9,000-square-foot newly built industrial building close to the Pasco School District bus barn, Lamb Weston, Union Pacific Railway, Bergstrom Aviation and other employers near the Tri-Cities Airport.
Gauntt NW, the owner agreed to carve out a 1,500-square-foot shop space for Wild Olive’s — 600 for a front area and 900 for the kitchen. The new kitchen area is nearly three times as large as the one they used at Cafe Magnolia.
They celebrated by catering a special event for their landlords, who they call great friends to the business. They’re proud that the business is both debt free and fully permitted and licensed from day one.
Pickup and delivery
Their Pasco spot is not a dine-in restaurant. It has space for workshops, where the team shares tips to help enthusiasts create their own charcuterie at home.
The location serves as a kitchen as as well as pick-up and delivery hub.
The menu includes a fixed line of smaller plates that can serve individuals or small groups of people. It rents and sells physical trays and wooden platters to customers.
A $40 solo plate feds up to two people and features cheeses and meats, nuts, olives, fruit, chocolate and more on an 8x8 board. The $60 share plate doubles up on the offerings.
A Merry Charcuterie Wreath, available now for delivery in December, costs $125 and includes all the standard fare and a few holiday extras, such as candy canes.
Wild Olive’s sources meat and cheese from Boar’s Head through a vendor in Spokane.
It shops locally for the other items. An individual tray or board can have dozens of different food items, from sweet to savory.
The owners expected to build their business on smaller orders, but say the grazing tables — literal tables laden — have become their bread and butter. Area businesses regularly order them for corporate events.
Event business
A table can serve dozens of people and is a popular offering for weddings, birthdays, showers, funerals and other events. One a recent weekend, the Wild Olive’s team dispatched one to a wedding in Ione, Ore., and another in the opposite direction, to Prosser, Wash.
The business is also a resource for the growing interest in charcuterie, which, Schuh said, used to be known as a meat and cheese plates. “Charcuterie” is a French term for cooked meat though she acknowledges the definition has loosened as ideas about food presentation change.
Still, she balks at “candy charcuterie,” calling the term nonsensical even if it is a hot topic on Instagram.
Schuh and Beverly say they’ve enjoyed the consistent growth they’ve seen in two years. But they’re holding the line, saying they want to keep the fun going without feeling married to the business.
Follow Wild Olive’s online at wildolivesck.com as well as on social media, including Instagram.
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