Today we’d like to introduce you to Celia Tully.
Celia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
For all of my adult life, I have been passionate about quality culinary ingredients and the resulting dishes. As a home cook, I was always searching for the next best culinary ingredient. Although the majority of my professional career has been in health and wellness, I have always had an eye on the epicurean world. In 2012, I decided to pursue my enthusiasm for all things culinary and open a specialty food retail and online concept.
With Strippaggio, I have taken a unique approach. I do not source my inventory from one main distributor, as the majority of olive oil and vinegar retail concepts across the U.S. do. Rather, I have curated the best of the best, and have a myriad of suppliers, many of which, are family farms in the U.S. The majority of the olive oils offered at Strippaggio, are sourced from small, unique producers in Georgia and California.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was a fairly smooth road for the first three years, then I hit a speed bump. I decided to open a second location in an exciting new food hall in Atlanta that was garnering a lot of attention in the market place. I thought this second location was sure to be a home run but it turned out to be everything but a home run. There were numerous issues with the physical space that could not be remedied and there wasn’t a suitable alternate space to relocate the business. Sixteen months after opening, I shuttered the location.
The good news is the business is now performing well and will likely enjoy the best year yet financially. I have recovered from the speed bump and learned a valuable lesson through the process.
Strippaggio Artisan Oils, Vinegars & Specialty Food – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Strippaggio is located in a mixed use development called Emory Point which is on Clifton Road in the Emory University area. The store has a warm ambiance leaving one to feel as though they are in Napa Valley or Tuscany. Custom art adorns the walls and is also for sale.
We are dedicated to bringing the finest culinary ingredients to the marketplace via the shop and online store. The products include domestically produced extra virgin olive oils sourced directly from the farmers and producers of the oils. Other culinary oils offered include Georgia produced pecan oil, benne seed oil, sunflower seed oil and green peanut oil. We also carry an array of wine, sherry and balsamic vinegars. Additionally, Strippaggio has a wide variety of unique spices and spice blends, gourmet sea salts, bitters and cocktail mixers, hand crafted serving accessories and a great selection of Georgia made condiments, Cooking demonstrations are regularly offered which helps customers learn how to use the ingredients we sell.
Unlike most olive oil and vinegar shops in Georgia and the United States, we do not rely on one distributor to supply our oils and vinegars. We have curated each and every product we carry and have a large supplier base.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I hosted Iron Chef, Cat Cora at my shop for a booking signing of her memoir. There were about 80 attendees and I interviewed Chef Cora for about 45 minutes via a question and answer session followed by the book signing. That was fun!
Contact Info:
- Address: 855 Emory Point Dr.,
Suite C-135,
Atlanta, GA 30329 - Website: www.strippaggio.com
- Phone: 404-963-5921
- Email: info@strippaggio.com
- Instagram: instragram.com/strippaggio
- Facebook: facebook.com/strippaggio
- Twitter: @strippaggio
- Yelp: yelp.com/biz/strippaggio-atlanta
Image Credit:
Elaine Groves
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