Pickle Parlor offers all things pickle gifts and a glimpse into the legacy and history of Mt. Olive Pickle Co.

The Mt. Olive Pickle Co. Pickle Parlor grand opening was reminiscent of the N.C. Pickle Festival’s pickle-packing challenge — only instead of seeing how many pickles can be packed into a jar, it was seeing how many people could be packed into the new store.

And the store, located at 109 N. Center St., was packed with visitors on hand for the Thursday morning ceremony. However, they came for more than a ceremony — they came to check out the new store and shop.

The Pickle Parlor builds on the merchandise and pickle offerings found in the company’s tiny, 600-square-foot gift shop operated for decades at Mt. Olive’s headquarters at the corner of Cucumber & Vine. But it will offer much more including the company’s history and legacy.

Its design takes cues from the time of the company’s founding in the 1920s, with its simulated punched tin ceiling, schoolhouse lights, the pickle bar and its ornate cabinetry. The design is also based on Mt. Olive’s brand colors of green, yellow and black.

The new store’s hours will mirror that of the original gift shop of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Company mascot Ollie Q. Cumber stayed busy posing for photos; the cash registers were even busier as visitors shopped for all things pickle, from clothing to pickle-related toys to ornaments, and of course pickles.

They sampled free pickle soda and pickles, and as they left, they were given a gift of a pickle pouch to snack on.

On display were artifacts, images, and highlights of employees, shareholders and events over the years. Visitors were able to view the company’s 14-minute, award-winning tour video in the history room, which is a simulated pickle barrel that also features a history timeline.

Perhaps the store’s most striking feature is the pickle bar — hence the name of the store, Pickle Parlor.

The pickle bar will boast daily pickle tastings, soft drinks from the soda fountain and canned pickle sodas made by R&R Brewing. It also will offer pickle-flavored snacks, like chips.

“It is a great day to be a pickle fan,” said Bill Bryan, Mt. Olive Pickle Co. executive chairman, who welcomed the crowd to the Thursday morning event. “We are very fortunate to be able to relocate in downtown Mount Olive. It was almost 100 years ago that downtown merchants and business people came together to found the Mt. Olive Pickle Co., and it is fitting that we were able to return our gift store back to the origins of the company where a lot of those meetings were held.

“So, we are looking forward to celebrating that 100th anniversary in the coming year. This is sort of the kick off to that. But again, we are delighted to have so many people here today as we celebrate pickles in Mount Olive. We’ve been proud to be a part of Mount Olive and the Wayne County and North Carolina communities for almost 100 years.”

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Bryan recognized Lynn Williams, public relations manager for Mt. Olive Pickle, calling her the driving force behind the project.

Williams, he said, needed no introduction and had worked hard with the designers, builders and employees to bring the project to fruition.

“Pickle fans are the best fans in the world,” Williams said to hoots, shouts and applause. “You really are, and I want to say thank you to all of you all for being here today. It is a day that has been a long time coming.”

Williams said when she first joined the pickle company some 25 years that there was an historic house with ties to the company’s history located across the street from the pickle plant.

When it came up for sale, Williams said she tried to convince Bryan that the company should buy it and turn it into a gift store and museum.

“And Bill, being very practical, as he always is, looked at me and said, ‘Lynn, we make pickles,’” she said. “Timing is everything. So this is a store that is 25 years in the making. But it is really the time that it should have been.”

The original tiny store was about 600 square feet, about the size of the new cash bar, Williams joked.

“We knew we wanted to improve the visitor experience because our pickle fans are the best fans in the world,” she added. “We wanted, that when they came to Mount Olive to see a piece of Mt. Olive Pickle Co., that they had a space that was worthy of the company and worthy of them.

“This space as you know used to be Especially for You.”

It was owned by Dwayne Parvin, who attended the grand opening, and his late wife Margaret Ann, who was a Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce director at the time of her death, Williams said.

“I can’t tell you how thrilled we are to really keep that connection — the full circle pickle connection here in Mount Olive,” she said.

Williams also thanked the many people who had a hand in the store.

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Bobby Frye, president and CEO of Mt. Olive Pickle, thanked the company’s more than 1,400 employees across its 14 different facilities.

“Without them, none of this could be possible,” he said.

Frye said he joined the company more than 44 years ago following in the footsteps of his father who was a long-time sales manager and his grandmother, who started in 1933 as the original salesperson. His son is a sales manager with the company.

“When I came here we were in three states,” Frye said. “We have grown from three states to 50, and they just sent me a picture of our product in Aruba. We are all over the world with Five Guys, and we are the largest pickle, pepper, relish brand in the world. When I came to this company Vlasic outsold us by 30 times, and now we outsell them by $140 million. And, we are just getting started.

“We will be 100 next year, and we look to remain independent. We were founded as a community proposition for the betterment of this community. Our core values are that we are here for our people and for the communities that we serve. That is the way we operate and give back and share the wealth. This is just part of sharing the wealth. This is an excellent representation for the community and certainly for Mt. Olive Pickle Co.”

Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce President Julie Beck called the day a “big dill.”

Beck said she was excited when Williams first told her of plans for the building because she knew it would be a great anchor for downtown.

Beck said she and Williams have served on committees looking for ways to revitalize downtown.

“And I know this is going to make a huge difference as we continue to bring people to our community to live and visit,” she said. “We hope that when they visit they want to stay. It is such a great place.

“I am ‘dill-lighted’ to be here today, and I relish seeing everybody here. Mt. Olive Pickle Co. has been a great community partner for the town of Mount Olive for almost 100 years. As a Chamber of Commerce we appreciate their support, all of their encouragement and all they do to help us as we try to help our community maintain, to grow and to thrive.”

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In addition to a wider variety of branded and non-branded pickle-themed merchandise, the parlor shares much of the company’s nearly 100-year-history.

“The green shades from our labels, the black of our logo, the bright yellow from our caps are all present inside and outside the store,” Williams said. “It’s visually obvious that this is the pickle place downtown.”

The store was designed by Holt Experiential Group of Kernersville, with graphic work by Charles Akins of Akins Studios in Columbia, S.C.

Akins designed the company’s 90th anniversary publication 10 years ago, and Holt used that to help inform what the store should look like. The general contractor is Heritage Building Solutions of Goldsboro.

“A huge shout out to these firms, and to the many others who helped bring the store to life,” Williams said. “We know the store will be a hit for our pickle fans, and we are hopeful it will have a positive impact on downtown Mount Olive.”

Williams said in recent years the company’s original gift shop drew more than 10,000 visitors annually, and expectations are that number will rise with the Pickle Parlor’s opening.

“My favorite part of the store is the ribbon of images that grace the upper walls all around the store,” she said. “The goal is that anyone from Mount Olive, or who worked for Mt. Olive over the years, will see someone in those pictures they know.”

Mt. Olive Pickle Company was established in 1926 by local business people hoping to create a new market for area farmers. Today, it is the best-selling brand of pickles, peppers and relishes in the United States, with over 1,400 employees at three manufacturing plants in Wayne County.