A SLP Business Born Out of Love For Cooking

Susan Hanegan Burdorf has always loved to cook. The mother of two was constantly in the kitchen trying new recipes and teaching her children the joys of baking. With her children grown, the 61-year-old decided to turn her love of cooking into a business.

“I finally got to a point where life started to slow down a bit and I really wanted to do something for myself,” Hanegan Burdorf said. With her kids in college and her husband on the road for work, she decided to take a few cooking classes. Through these classes and conversations with other cooks, a business idea was born.

“I was chatting with a few ladies about using olive oil and balsamic vinegars to cook with and we realized that few people really know how to incorporate them into their recipes,” she said. “Which is a shame because they are healthy and tasty.”

From that conversation, Hanegan Burdorf started doing some research. She found a line of olive oils and balsamic vinegars sold by Veronica Foods and once she experimented with them in the kitchen, she knew it could be a worthwhile business.

“I really just fell in love with the whole line of products and so I decided to take the leap of faith and open my own store.” In April, Hanegan Burdorf opened in the Excelsior and Grand shopping area in St. Louis Park.

“What’s great about my shop is that customers can come in and try an oil or two or three and then purchase what they want,” she said. “No one leaves here without knowing what the oil tastes like.”

This new entrepreneur has more than 50 kinds of oils and vinegars to chose from. Her space, on the same block as Panera, is lined with silver canisters of oil, all ready for tasting.

“We have some breads and some other treats for people to taste test the oils with and we have recipes for people to take home, too,” she said.

Customer Shana Willers says the products are fantastic, but the service at Oil and Vinegar is even better.

“I’ve met the owner and she is so bubbly and energetic, I was inspired by her love of cooking and wound up taking home some new recipes and oils she suggested,” Willers said.

Now Hanegan Burdorf splits her time between her kitchen, where she continues to experiment, and her new store.

“This shop is a great fit for me and I hope it becomes a great fit for the folks in St. Louis Park,” she said.