“I know I’m not deserving, but I am so very grateful,” said Laura Taff, the driving force behind Coleman Olive Oil Company. “All glory to Him—that’s the only reason we’re even here.”
What began as a love for cooking and flavor has grown into a passion-driven business with a spiritual backbone. Laura’s journey into olive oil started during her time as a flight attendant, when she discovered how premium oils and balsamics could completely transform a dish. “It made cooking easier. It leveled up the flavor,” she said. “I wanted to share it with everyone.”
That passion only deepened after retirement, as she and her husband Richard began searching for high-quality olive oil and became disheartened by how difficult it was to find. “By that time, I had already developed a palette for it. I could even smell it and know something was wrong,” she said.
Health benefits became another cornerstone of Laura’s mission. “Richard has horrible genetics—high cholesterol and stuff. We watched all those numbers go down. We felt it, you know?” That personal transformation sparked her to act. “I said, I think I want to put in an olive oil store.”
Laura and Richard considered Bryan, College Station, Waco, and Abilene, scoping out locations. “I wanted to share it with the masses,” she said. But a simple post-church meal in Coleman changed everything. “Richard said, ‘They’re starting to make some buzz around Coleman.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s so cute.’”
They drove downtown and saw a “big gigantic sign.” It was in that moment Laura said, “The Lord did what He does… I just teared up. I said, ‘Oh my gosh, is Coleman it?’” From the instant she peeked into the window, the vision was crystal clear. “Everything you see here now is what I saw. Olive oil, balsamics—it was just a go.”
After Robert Williamson showed them the building, she hasn’t looked back since. “I didn’t second guess after that moment in any kind of way whatsoever. And so it was Coleman.”
Today, Coleman Olive Oil Company offers 50 oils and 52 balsamic vinegars. “That leaves you over 2 million flavor options. Isn’t that crazy?” Laura laughed. “I wanted my customers to have every flavor they could possibly think of in their wildest dreams.”
But it’s not just about flavor—it’s about connection. “I want you to eat it. I want you to be healthy. I want it to be a positive experience. Food is absolutely unequivocally the way we really connect.”
The Coleman store’s success has opened doors. One of the most unexpected blessings came from an Instagram notification. “Ree Drummond started following Coleman Olive Oil Company. I have no idea how she found us,” Laura said. The surprise connection led Laura to visit Pawhuska, Oklahoma. “We went up there one weekend and we left owning a building. By Saturday, it was ours.”
Pawhuska may be known for The Pioneer Woman, but now, as Laura put it, “They’ve got the crazy olive oil lady.” The store has made a name for itself, recently earning a feature in Oklahoma Today Magazine. “I wanted the store to make it for what I intended—education of olive oil and balsamics and the health benefits. And it has.”
Now, she’s setting her sights on San Angelo. “We have a huge following there and have from day one,” she said. After considering Abilene, Laura felt a tug toward San Angelo. “We hadn’t even been there,” she laughed. “But we rode over, absolutely fell in love with downtown. It felt right.”
And even as she expands, the name stays the same. “It is Coleman Olive Oil Company, San Angelo. From here on out, if we open 50 stores—which I don’t want to really—I want to take Coleman with me everywhere I go.”
Her reason? “I found myself in Coleman, if that makes sense. Through this store and through the people that truly love it… Coleman will always be my top priority.”
With a laugh, she added, “If they put me at an olive oil store in Reunion Tower, Coleman is still number one.”
Even as Coleman Olive Oil Company flourishes and expands into new markets, Laura remains deeply grounded in her mission—and in her faith. But not all parts of growth are easy, especially in small towns like Coleman.
While her love for Coleman remains, Laura’s excitement for San Angelo is tangible. “It just felt right,” she said. “We rode over there, absolutely fell in love with the downtown. It was constant flow—booming business. There are no empty buildings. And the people were so welcoming and excited.”
The new store will be located at 19 West Beauregard, “right smack dab in the heart of it,” across from Myers Drug and near Shannon Medical Center. With doors set to open by the end of May, she’s all in. “It’s over double the size of this store. It’s already painted Coleman Olive Oil Company green on the inside.”
As for staffing, Laura is taking the same approach she used when opening her Pawhuska location. “I stayed in Pawhuska three and a half months solid. Didn’t even come home and got Kaydin (Hougardy) trained. And now she’s here,” she added with a smile. “Love her. Such a blessing.”
She plans to do the same in San Angelo. “I already have a girl that works here from time to time and she is going to relocate to San Angelo and work there with me full time. She’s pretty much trained.” Laura laughed.
With faith as her guide, she’s confident the right team will come together. “We’ve prayed about that… I might go the staffing agency route again.”
Despite the logistics of juggling three locations from her home in Brownwood, Laura is unfazed. “I’m just going to bounce,” she said. “Much easier than back and forth from Oklahoma. It’s eight solid hours to Pawhuska.”
And while there’s no Coleman Olive Oil jet yet, Laura is energized by the journey. “I like to keep moving. Change denotes growth, and I’m here for it,” she said. “I have a lot more years behind me than I do in front of me, and I want to do everything I can to make them count.”
Her motivation remains steadfast. “I’m passionate about this stuff. And I just want—absolutely want—to show it.”
Over the years, Coleman Olive Oil Company has become more than a store—it’s a movement. And according to Laura, it’s a movement with a purpose. “I’ve had people come back with doctor’s reports,” she said. “They’ve seen significant changes in their health—more mobility, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol. Significant, significant growth as far as the health benefits for sure.”
For Laura, the accessibility and integrity of her product matter just as much as the flavor. “Yeah, I can go into Spring Market and buy a gallon jug, but that’s boring,” she said, echoing some locals sentiment. “If it’s in plastic, if it’s in a clear bottle… they don’t like direct sunlight. Olive oil is not substantial in plastic or light-colored bottles. They act and react certain ways, just like people. They’re a person to me.”
And what’s inside those bottles? According to Laura, too often it’s not what it claims to be. “I learned in Tunisia that in the States, we can take a 55-gallon barrel of canola oil and pour a gallon of extra virgin olive oil in it. Then you can bottle it and slap a label on it that says ‘extra virgin olive oil.’ That’s crazy to me. And it’s scary that people think they’re doing what’s best for their family.”
That’s why Laura sources her olive oil directly from Tunisia. “Straight from the source,” she said. “I have a broker who goes over there for me. I know the crush dates, everything.” For her, the groves are more than scenic—they’re sacred. “The locals think Jesus walked there. I’m not so sure He didn’t, because I was brought to my knees right in the middle of the olive grove. I’m like, praise the Lord for olives.”
What drew her to Tunisia wasn’t just the spiritual weight, but the oil’s light, smooth flavor. “Tunisia produces a very light, soft olive oil. I chose that because Coleman wasn’t familiar with olive oil yet, and it allowed me to do infusions where the flavor shines through instead of the oil drowning it out.”
Still, she appreciates the bold varieties too. “I have two non-infusions from Greece—a Greek Kalamata and a Greek Koroneiki. Greece produces that bolder, neon green oil. A lot of folks with a more educated palate prefer that. And I have one from California. Nobody in Texas will buy anything that says California,” she joked, “but it is a wonderful olive oil.”
The same care goes into her balsamics, all sourced from a traditional producer in Modena, Italy. “They’re still doing it old school, and I love that. They’ll do funky things for me like infusions—all botanical, so they don’t disturb the integrity of the balsamic. Who else would call Italy and say, ‘I need jalapeño balsamic?’”
Her mission is to educate and invite people into a better, more joyful experience with food. “I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, that’s just fancy stuff.’ I want them to feel welcome. I take pride that we’ve kept our price point down. I don’t ever want anyone to think it’s too flashy.”
That philosophy applies even when discussing high-end balsamics. “Real balsamic can be $350 an ounce. But ours has two ingredients—grape must and red wine vinegar—and it’s $25 a bottle. I don’t see myself putting a $400 bottle on the shelf just to say I did. The health benefits aren’t any greater.”
As the interview closed, Laura laughed. “You can’t wind me up, because I’m going to tell you what—I’m like the energizer bunny over here!”
And while the shelves at Coleman Olive Oil Company may be lined with world-class products, its heartbeat remains in the little Texas town that gave Laura her start. “I just absolutely want to show it. I want to show the passion, the purpose, and the love. Coleman will always be at the center of that.”