Love at First Bite Mercantile first opened in Snake River Landing in 2009. Since that time, the locally-owned gift shop known for their unique mix of home decor, cooking supplies, gifts, as well as homemade and custom foods, has enjoyed success leading to two store expansions within ten years of first opening for business.
Love at First Bite is certainly a local small business success story. Across the country, 2009 was a difficult time for retailers. In the midst of the Great Recession, few small businesses were opening. Despite the challenges in the global economy, Juli and Mike Richards took a chance on themselves, investing in their passions to make Love at First Bite Mercantile a reality.
Those familiar with Love at First Bite will tell you it is a one-stop gift shop. With an ever-increasing product mix, the shop recently required an expansion of an additional 2000 square feet, making the newly reopened shop close to 5000 square feet. Over the years, the mercantile has been able to expand near their original location, remaining within the mixed-use building at 901 Pier View Drive in Snake River Landing.
Favorite products found at Love at First Bite include a wide variety of homemade and custom treats like European truffles, hand dipped chocolates, chocolate caramel dipped pretzels and apples, fudge, gourmet cupcakes, cookies, and various baked goods.
Love at First Bite is also in the business of catering for special events such as weddings, birthdays, and corporate events. Whether its cupcakes, cookies, or chocolate covered strawberries, infinite combinations of catered desserts are available for custom order. Within the cupcake menu, Love at First Bite features 70 different flavors to order from, which are available in addition to the several fresh baked cupcakes in their shop on a daily basis.
When Love at First Bite completed their first expansion, the shop started carrying their own brand of extra virgin and infused olive oils, as well as balsamic vinegars. The olive oil and vinegar line is called Twig & Vine Olive Oil Co. and includes over 50 different varieties of oils and vinegars. In the future, the Richards hope to offer a Twig & Vine Olive Oil Co. subscription service, where each month customers receive new samples of oils and vinegars along with helpful recipe cards on how to best use the products to compliment appetizers and meals. The subscription service will allow their customers to enjoy fun tantalizing flavors and learn new ways to use oils and vinegars in their cooking and grilling. Twig & Vine Olive Oil Co. subscriptions will be available locally as well as through online orders to be shipped across the country.
Love at First Bite is also known for assembling custom gift baskets that are ideal for birthdays, holidays, celebrations and more.
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