Olive-oil store Olio in Lititz closed by Nov. 3 fire finds temporary site

Joe Desimone remembers standing outside his business, Olio Olive Oils & Balsamics, helplessly watching an electrical fire destroy the contents.

“We’re standing there watching the fire burn,” he recalled. “The firemen couldn’t do anything until PPL came to turn off the power. ...

“It might have only taken 10 or 15 minutes, but for us standing there and watching, it seemed like an eternity.”

Now, two weeks after the fire ravaged the downtown Lititz store, Olio has found a temporary location at another downtown Lititz business, Appalachian Brewing Co.

Nonetheless, it will take about three weeks to stock the temporary location so it can open.

“We were left with nothing,” said Desimone. “Everything that was in our store was destroyed. So we have to order all new product in.”

The fire struck Olio at the worst possible time of year. Olio had just received its inventory for the Christmas season, which accounts for a third of the year’s business.

So Olio is scrambling to get back in business as soon as possible: “We’re hoping to catch at least a little piece of Christmas (business),” said Desimone.

Opened in 2012, Olio is owned by Desimone and his son Pete, and run by them and Desimone's wife Judy.

A 2015 expansion at the 41 S. Broad St. retailer doubled its sales floor to 3,100 square feet. It boosted the total operation to 6,500 square feet, including warehouse, office and shipping areas, and its workforce to seven employees.

The Nov. 3 fire was in the warehouse, but smoke, heat and water damage ruined all the product throughout the business. Desimone said the value of the lost inventory and equipment has yet to be calculated, but it’s six figures.

Olio’s long-term plan is to reopen its 41 S. Broad St. location. Until that happens, though, it will operate a half-mile away at Appalachian Brewing Co.’s 55 N. Water St. address, resuming its retail, online and wholesale operations.

However, that’s a smaller space at 2,200 square feet. So Olio will streamline its selection.

For instance, the number of olive oils and vinegars will be trimmed from 128 to about 50. Similar cuts will be made in its selection of honey, pasta, pasta sauce, sea salt, peppercorns and other items.

In the meantime, Olio has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise cash for its restart effort. As of Monday afternoon, the campaign had raised $8,105 of its $10,000 goal.

Desimone thanked the residents, firefighters and businesses of Lititz for helping Olio in its time of need.

Olio has fire insurance on its South Broad Street address, he said. But because it could be months until Olio sees a check from the insurance company and the business needs cash to buy replacement inventory now, the GoFundMe campaign was launched, Desimone explained.

Crédito: TIM MEKEEL | Staff Writer