NORTH STAFFORD — Olde Virginia Gourmet has hit a small-business milestone and is now in its fifteenth year in business.
Beginning as an out-of-the-home gift basket business called All Wrapped Up, it has evolved over the years to become known as “Stafford’s hometown country store.”.
Owners Annabelle and Sean Tarallo both bring unique talents and skills to the shop. Annabelle works more on the creative side of operations with gift baskets and outsourcing while Sean is the wine consultant and focuses on advertising and accounting.
“We actually met working together several years ago in retail, so for us to work together is a natural thing,” Annabelle said. “I think we each do different things really well, and it all comes together in one place and works out.”
Virginia wine, craft beer, and peanuts are some of the store’s best selling products.
“We both enjoy wine,” Sean said. “We visit a lot of Virginia wineries and meet a lot of people in the industry. Wine is both of our passions.”
Ninety percent of the items sold in the shop come from Virginia. Currently, there are about eight commissioned crafters who do regular work for the store. Some items, however, such as olive oil and tea are cannot be produced in Virginia.
“We got to shows, and if there is something local that we think is interesting, we will add it to our store,” Annabelle said.
In the wine section, around 50 different wineries stock the shelves with an average of five different types of wines each. Once a month the store hosts tastings with different Virginia wineries.
“We try to do tastings based on the season,” Sean said. “We have many different kinds of tastings as well including chocolate for Valentine’s Day, cider in the fall, barbeque, and coffee.”
Owning a small business is not without its challenges, especially where making a profit is concerned.
“It’s very difficult,” Sean said. “There are times when we are not getting paychecks. It gets tricky and is like a balancing act sometimes.”
Just as many small businesses met economic hardships in the 2008 recession, so too did Olde Virginia Gourmet.
“One of the toughest periods was the recession in 2008 and 2009,” Sean said. “We weren’t sure if we were going to make it through. That was a difficult time for us, but afterwards things did steadily improve.”
Beyond economic strain, a far more threatening force challenged the Tarallos: cancer.
In 2016, Annabelle was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. One year after finishing treatment, she learned that she had breast cancer.
“I am a two-time cancer survivor,” Annabelle said. “I’ve come out in a good place right now. I’ve worked through it all, and if I wasn’t there, then Sean was. It was very difficult to go to chemo and then work the day. Some days were better than others.”
As Annabelle underwent chemoradiation and other treatment plans, the community that was fostered inside the store came together to help.
“Part of why my recovery went so well is because I went to work,” Annabelle said. “We have a wonderful customer base that would come in, check on us, and bring us lunch. It was awesome, and it says a lot about our customers.”
Not only is their store marking its fifteenth anniversary, but the Tarallos are soon coming up on their thirtieth wedding anniversary. They have two children who, while they were young when the shop first opened, are now grown up and out of the home.
“The store may not have given us extreme wealth, but it gave us the flexibility to be a part of the community and spend time with our family,” Annabelle said. “Our kids grew up in the store.”
As for the next fifteen years, beyond good health, the Tarallos are hoping to just keep the store running and prosperous.
“We are not planning on going anywhere,” Sean said. “We will see where business leads and how the economy is. We will keep adjusting and changing as we need to.”
