One of Eureka Springs’ more unique and popular retail shops, Fresh Harvest Tasting Room, recently moved from the east part of town to The Quarter at 121 E. Van Buren, arguably the center of highway commerce. The business offers high-quality extra-virgin olive oil and premium balsamic vinegars.
The new location has been very well received by locals and tourists, co-owner Troy Johnson said. “It’s a great new space, open and airy,” he said. “The new location is a bit more cozy, but turned out beautifully. We also have an art installation of Still Life food by local artist Jody Stephenson.”
Fresh Harvest was at Pine Mountain Village for seven seasons. Johnson said as much as they loved their original location, The Village, unfortunately, had no other tenants other than the owner for more than a year now.
“Although we hung on as long as we could, we had to make a business decision to move,” Johnson said. “While we don’t doubt the Village owners surely have some kind of plans, which they have been talking about for several years in general terms, we could no longer wait for those plans to come to fruition. We could not operate in an environment of uncertainty, so we made the decision to relocate.”
The new location is more convenient for many because it is close to other major shopping stops, like Hart’s. Johnson said they now have US 62 frontage and amazing neighbors with the Eureka Market and Mercy Clinic.
“Our new location, The Quarter, is becoming a center of healthy eating and living,” he said. “It feels like we’re back in town now. Our products are Ultra-Premium grade which is actually more stringent than USDA Organic, so being next to Eureka Market is really the perfect fit for everyone.”
One thing that makes the business popular with tourists and locals is that people get free tastings of the many different types of olive oil and vinegars. And they get to learn more about the health benefits of these products.
Johnson said there is a massive amount of fraud in the food industry and little regulation or oversight.
“To be blunt, the FDA does not regulate olive oil or balsamic, or a wide range of foods consumers might believe need to be policed,” Johnson said. “Just about all of the extra virgin olive oil sold in the U.S. market is imported and it’s pretty much all fake. Deoleo USA, which imports Bertolli olive oil, for example, lost a class action lawsuit last year that involved fraudulent labeling.”
Fresh Harvest works with a supplier in California they know well. Johnson said that company has the highest chemical testing standards in the world, called Ultra-Premium grade. The company harvests and crushes olives within six hours at mills located on grove farms around the world.
“Our fusions are also authentic,” Johnson said. “We crush blood oranges with olives to get our blood orange olive oil. By using the Ultra-Premium guidelines, our olive oils are filled with major antioxidants called biophenols that fight cancer, stroke, heart disease, and are anti-inflammatory. Our balsamic vinegars are among the finest in the world. They are all from Modena, Italy, and barrel-aged for not less than twelve years.”
Along with Fresh Harvest’s GMO-free wheat pasta, gluten free pasta, olives and olive leaf tea, they have a selection of more than 90 items, most available to be tasted.
One popular program is refilling, more environmentally sustainable than recycling glass bottles.
“Our bottle refill program is very popular,” Johnson said. “Customers like the program because they don’t need to wash the bottles. Olive oil of our quality and vinegar, of course, are natural anti-fungal and anti-microbial. They just need to keep the bottles corked and we will refill for them at $1 off.”
Authentic extra-virgin olive oil can cost as much as $3-5 per ounce for the consumer, if they can find it. Fresh Harvest offers Ultra-Premium olive oil for a about $1 per ounce on larger bottles. Johnson said consumers who purchase “bargain” olive oils outside of an importer like Fresh Harvest are nearly all getting an unregulated and adulterated blend of subpar oils that are mislabeled and often not fit for human consumption.
“Due to the level of quality we offer, our olive oils have a high smoke point (425°F),” Johnson said. “In regards to shelf life, olive oil is a fruit juice and should be consumed around 14 months from crush date for the most nutritional benefit. Balsamic vinegars, on the other hand, are aged like wine and basically have a shelf life of many decades.”
Fresh Harvest co-owner Steve Ketchersid said they offer extra virgin olive oil, fused and infused olive oil, and gourmet oils. Fused means crushed together with olives, and they offer blood orange, mandarin, lemon, rosemary, and a variety of chili oils.
“Our infusions are made using only the freshest herbs and spices that are steeped under vacuum pressure in our Ultra-Premium extra virgin olive oil,” Ketchersid said. “Our gourmet oils feature black and white truffle, almond, walnut and toasted sesame. We offer a wide range of barrel-aged balsamics including raspberry, lemon, peach, coconut, mango, pineapple, strawberry, cranberry pear, honey ginger, blueberry, key lime and black cherry, just to name a few. Plus, we have a selection of wine vinegars including champagne, pinot noir, red wine and more. Prices range from $13 to $28 per bottle and everything is bottled fresh in our tasting room.”
Ketchersid said their traditional 18-year-old balsamic pairs really well with their Tuscan herb olive oil (garlic, basil, rosemary and oregano).
“It’s Caprese in a cup,” he said. “Other favorites include green chili olive oil with pineapple balsamic, garlic olive oil with lemon balsamic, and basil olive oil with peach balsamic. Many combinations can be used for marinating meats, like chipotle olive oil with raspberry balsamic or garlic olive oil with espresso balsamic. There are more than 1,800 possible combinations, not to mention you can sauté and bake with the oils, and use the balsamics over fruits, veggies, soda, cocktails and even on ice cream.”
Fresh Harvest expanded to Rogers in 2018, at 211 W. Walnut in historic downtown Rogers.
“We want to thank our customers in Northwest Arkansas and elsewhere for supporting our efforts to continue bringing the freshest extra virgin olive oil, balsamic and gourmet food items to this area. And for those who may not be aware, we have over 250 recipes on our website and provide $10 carbon-neutral shipping via UPS to anywhere in the continental U.S.,” Johnson said. “Our website is www.FreshHarvest.co (not dot com).”