A Jacksonville retailer of pickles, olives, sauerkraut and other fermented products received a savory reception Oct. 3 when its plans for expansion went before the city Planning Commission.
The commission unanimously approved a zoning exception and administrative deviation to allow Olive My Pickle to open a retail shop at its warehouse at 5913 St. Augustine Road. The vote was 5-0, with commissioner Julius Harden abstaining and three members not present.
Olive My Pickle, which distributes locally at farmers markets and globally online, plans to build-out the space for its new franchise concept, The Pickle Factory, where it will sell the company’s food products and other merchandise. The retail shop will be across St. Augustine Road from the Publix Super Market at University Square, north of University Boulevard West.
The zoning exception was needed to allow retail sales at the property, which is zoned Industrial Business Park with a land use of Business Park.
In the administrative deviation, the business sought to reduce landscaping, bicycle parking, and side and rear yard setbacks. The commission approved the deviation with conditions for landscaping, including installation of beds of native plants.
The commission’s votes provided final approval on the exception and deviation. Jacksonville City Council review is not required for those matters.
Olive My Pickle was co-founded by Jacksonville husband-and-wife team Shai and Charlotte Tzabari. According to the business’s website, olivemypickle.com, the business began in 2010 and gained a foothold by operating at farmers markets. The site says Shai Tzabari grew up in Israel, where he regularly made pickled items in his grandmother’s kitchen.
“Years later, living in the U.S. and homesick, I made my first batch of pickles to reconnect with the smells and tastes of home,” he states on the site. “That was the start.”
The couple launched their e-commerce business in 2018, the site says.
In addition to pickles and olives, products available online include kimchi, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, gift cards and a range of merchandise such as T-shirts, refrigerator magnets and bumper stickers.
Several food products come in different varieties. For example, the business offers kosher dill, spicy dill and garlic pickles; garlic stuffed and pitted butter olives plus a Greek olive mix; and red and ginger, turmeric and cumin, and carrot and dill sauerkraut.