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Red Bluff Daily News (CA)
August 14, 2007
Section: News
STEVIE IPSEN-DN Staff Writer
CORNING
In the Olive City, locals have been picking the town's namesake crop
for nearly 100 years, but one family has something special to share at
this year's Olive Festival 40 years of olive expertise.
In 1967, Pete and Ann Craig opened the business that greets newcomers to Corning as they exit Interstate 5.
The Craigs' daughter Bonnie Jackson said her first memory of the family
business is of her sitting in the living room with her father as they
brainstormed a name for the store.
"He wanted it to serve as a pit stop for people passing through, but he
wanted it to relate to what he was going to sell at the store," Jackson
said. "It didn't take long to decide. The Olive Pit was an easy choice."
Jackson's brother Ron oversees most of the business operations. Jackson
said she just enjoys mingling with customers and helping out around the
store. She said all three of her children have worked in the store,
alongside their cousins, as Ron's children were also employed at the
store growing up. Jackson said her father died last winter but her
mother still plays an active role at the store.
"She visits the store every day," Jackson said about her mother. "I
think she approves of the way things are going in the store. She is
always happy when she is here."
Renee Landingham is the general manager over the store. She is originally from the Corning area and said she has worked at the Olive Pit for 29 years.
"It must be a good place to work," Landingham said. "I am sure here a lot. I can't seem to get enough of it."
Landingham said as a local herself, it is great to see the way things
evolve. Business has always been good, she said, but seeing different
generations come back year after year is neat for her to see.
Landingham said the Olive Pit
started as a small frosty and hamburger stand in 1967. She said the
Craigs had a few olive trees so they put some on a shelf in the stand
to see if anyone wanted to buy their olives.
They really started to sell some, "and the rest is history," Landingham
said. "Things here have really grown, but that is how it all began."
According to Jackson and Landingham, the store has undergone five expansion projects to reach its current size.
With 30 local employees, hometown hospitality is just part of what
keeps people coming back year after year. The store features a wide
variety of pickled vegetables, sauces, spices and obviously lots of
olives, including olive oils and olive products.
While the variety of olives and a tasting bar is what Landingham said
makes the business different from other olive operations, the twinkle
in Bonnie Jackson's eye as she talks of her parents and the beginning
of the business reveals it may be more than olives that makes it
different.
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Staff writer Stevie Ipsen can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or sipsen@redbluffdailynews.com
Photo:
In 1967, Pete and Ann Craig opened the business that greets newcomers to Corning as they exit Interstate 5.
(c) 2007 Red Bluff Daily News. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.