The Shadow
CLIFTON FORGE, Va. (VR) — Tucked inside one of downtown Clifton Forge’s most talked-about landmarks, a small specialty shop is giving local cooks a reason to put down the grocery store bottle and taste something different.
Oluv Oil, located at 511 Main St. inside the Five Sides Building, offers premium olive oils, aged vinegars and gourmet cooking essentials that were largely unavailable in the Alleghany Highlands before the shop opened.
“Kristin just kind of had a vision for what she wanted and wanted to bring things to Clifton Forge that you can’t really find in the area,” said Anthony Darcus, who handles marketing for the shop and other McConnell-owned businesses in the building. “You don’t have to go to Roanoke. You don’t have to order some off-brand product from somewhere else. You can come to the store and get the best of the best.”
The shop sources its oils from Veronica Foods and decants them into large tasting containers known as fustis, allowing customers to sample products before they buy. Between the oils and vinegars, shoppers have roughly 64 varieties to choose from, ranging from milder, all-purpose options such as Tuscan Herb—a favorite for everyday dishes like chicken and rice—to more intense, robust blends favored by experienced home chefs.
Among the shop’s signature offerings are its fused and infused olive oils, including Green Lemon, Rosemary, Chimichurri Verde, Blood Orange and Tunisian Baklouti Pepper, each available in a variety of sizes. Its vinegar selection includes ultra-premium White Balsamic, Champagne Wine Balsamic, Barrel-Aged Red Wine Balsamic and Lambrusco Wine Balsamic.
Beyond oils and vinegars, Oluv Oil carries edible flowers, specialty spices, condiments, culinary garnishes and pouring accessories, including stainless steel and aluminum self-closing spouts. The store also offers a rotating selection of home décor items for customers who want their kitchens to reflect their love of cooking. Darcus said the goal is for customers to leave with more than just a bottle off the shelf.
“It’s really the goal to be a destination shop, a destination stop,” he said.
Staff members, including retail manager Debbie Laudermilk, are trained to explain how the oils and vinegars are made and how best to use them, whether that means drizzling balsamic over ice cream or finishing a salad with a citrus-infused olive oil.
That experience extends beyond the shop’s own walls. Oluv Oil is one of several connected businesses inside the Five Sides Building, a multi-sided structure that has become a destination in downtown Clifton Forge. Visitors can wander between Oluv Oil, the candy and gift shop Sweetest Side, Hawt Stuph and Wicked Wieners, which combines a coffee and doughnut counter with gourmet hot dogs. Kristin and Ron McConnell plan to open two additional concepts—Hodge Podge and Grown Ups—in the building in the coming months.
Darcus, who met the McConnells while working at their law firm, said he joined the project after seeing Kristin McConnell’s vision for the building, which had sat largely vacant before its renovation.
“These would be great people to work for,” he recalled thinking. “I have a marketing background myself, so I was like, ‘Okay, let me help you all with marketing.'”
He credited Kristin McConnell’s willingness to adapt on the fly—what he described as a “building the plane as we fly it” approach—with helping bring the project together.
Darcus said the McConnells’ investment reflects a broader belief in Clifton Forge’s potential, one he said is increasingly shared by other business owners and residents as downtown continues its revitalization.
Oluv Oil is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Customers who are unable to visit in person can place orders through the shop’s online store, with free shipping available on orders of more than $150. The shop also ships gift orders directly to family members and friends.
For more information, call 540-863-3254 or email info@five-sides.com.
