Buttery topping for popcorn. Dark chocolate or cinnamon pear flavored toppings for desserts.
Sounds fattening, but it isn’t.
These are just some of the all-natural olive oils and balsamic vinegars offered at Olio & Vino in Peoria Heights.
Stephanie Bernardi-Brott opened the new business Aug. 3.
Bernardi-Brott of Washington is the third generation in her family involved in the restaurant business.
She owns Bernardi’s Restaurant in Washington and co-owns Bernardi’s Restaurant North in Dunlap with her brother Tony.
Since 1933, the Bernardi name has been affiliated with restaurants. Bernardi-Brott’s grandfather, Nieldo
“Mona” Bernardi, started Mona’s in Toluca.
“My dad tried to get me away from (the restaurant business), but I kept coming back,” Bernardi-Brott said.
Last week, Bernardi-Brott was busy at her newest business discussing with manager Sara Howard where to put an incoming cooler that will house cheeses and salami.
She sat on a small bench seat in front of the store’s window and said she got the idea for Olio & Vino when she saw a similar place in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“I’ve always wanted to do something with food and drink,” she said.
Olio & Vino is in line with that goal and offers a little more with gift baskets, wine accessories, handmade aprons, cookbooks and other items.
The rectangular-shaped room is painted gold and a shade of olive green.
Frank Sinatra and Neil Diamond songs played softly in the background.
On the right side of the room are stainless steel vats that house the olive oils. Little plastic cups are available for sampling.
In the middle of the room, the balsamic vinegars are situated on a table in the Italian-made vats, which are called Fustis.
The balsamic vinegars are 18 years old and oak barrel aged.
Bernardi-Brott explained that the older the balsamic, the better.
“The older, the smoother. You don’t hardly get any vinegar out of it. It’s amazing,” she said.
But with the extra virgin olive oils, the opposite is true.
“Ninety-five percent of the olives are picked and crushed within six hours,” Bernardi-Brott said. “The fresher, the better.”
In addition to the oils and vinegars, there is an area in back to sample wines.
Patrons can purchase a wine tasting card and put the dollar amount they want on it. The card is plugged into the wine dispensing machine, which has a glass front. A wine glass is situated below a spigot, and above each wine bottle there are buttons to push for a sample, half or full glass.
