Genesis Kitchen doing well in C-Falls

Genesis Kitchen owner David Cohen was not sure Columbia Falls was ready for artisan olive oil and balsamic vinegar shop when he decided to move his main business here from Whitefish earlier this year, but business has been better than expected since he opened the doors on the north end of Nucleus Avenue in March.

“We have a pretty solid local customer base, which is very important. We definitely do better when tourists are here, but I think we could sustain things even without the tourists, which is good,” Cohen said. “People are still shocked that I have a store that is just olive oil and vinegar. All I can say is, just come taste it.”

The idea for the unique store first came when Cohen was working as a grocery buyer and noticed something a bit fishy about the oils that were available on the market.

“I bought a whole bunch of organic olive oil. It was OK, but it was just flat and wasn’t worth the money and customers were wondering what the deal was. I would look on the back of the bottle and it would say ‘Product of Tunisia, Morocco or Spain.’ It was like fruit punch,” he said. “A lot of the olive oil you see for sale in the world is not actually olive oil. There is a lot of adulteration that goes on. Even if it is not adulterated, it’s usually old.”

With a little prodding from a friend, and after visiting a similar store in another state, Cohen decided to open his own store in 2012.

“It really wasn’t my idea to do this. I had a friend pressure my wife and I for years saying we needed to open a store like this in Montana. We went to visit a store like ours in Arizona and they could barely get me out of there. I was a cook for years and when I tasted all of those flavors, it was amazing,” Cohen said.

After being a customer of the Arizona store for two years, Cohen decided to go into business for himself and began looking for a location. Cohen said he wanted to keep his business close to home in Columbia Falls, but was turned away by local landlords who were not quite sure his idea would fly here.

“We always wanted to be here, but six years ago, Columbia Falls wasn’t ready for us. We tried. We talked to several landlords who were resistant if not downright suspicious,” Cohen said.

One landlord was so suspicious, he doubled his listed rent price after finding out what kind of store Cohen was trying to open.

Undeterred, Cohen opened Genesis Kitchen in Whitefish in 2012. As the business grew over the next six years, the store outgrew its space. When the landlord sold the builing that housed Genesis Kitchen in 2018, Cohen decided to leave a small shop at the Stumptown Market in Whitefish, but move the bulk of his operation to Columbia Falls.

With his new, larger facility, Cohen is free to receive shipments that do not have to be left in the street and has a large open space that allows customers to taste his extra virgin oils and oils and balsamic vinegards infused with a variety of popular flavors, ranging from Persian lime and blackberry pear to Green Chile and blackberry ginger and even coconut.

So, what makes fresh olive oil so much better than older oil? Cohen says it is the health benefits.

“What most people come in for these days are strong oils. They are very good for your body with anti-inflammatory elements and can do wonders in your diet,” Cohen said. “It’s not just about diet, though. It’s also about lifestyle. The Mediterranean Diet, it’s not just a diet. People live a certain way there and they live a long time, Fresh olive oil is a big part of their life.”

Recent studies have shown that presh-pressed olive oil can be rich in antioxidant polyphenols, including a certain phenol compound called oleocanthal, which acts similar to ibuprofen in the body. Because of this, Cohen says there are even a few doctors around the area who have been writing prescriptions for patients to come to his store for the high-polyphenol olive oil and its powerful anti-inflammatory benefits.

No matter if customers have been coming in for the health benefits or the great taste of his fresh oils and vinegars, Cohen said he is glad he made the move to Columbia Falls as that the customer response has been good.

“The reception since we moved to Columbia Falls has been beyond what I had imagined,” he said. “People were little wary at first, but after I give them a taste, they think it is great.”