New culinary space in Salem to include community kitchen
Salem Spice, Branch Olive Oil coming together on Pickering Wharf
Released: March 10, 2017
Salem, MA. . . Salem’s waterfront will soon be home to an exciting new culinary multi-use
retail and commercial space. Opening in late March, 62 Wharf Street will be the new home of Salem Spice and The Branch Olive Oil Company. The space will be complete when a new community kitchen space, Salem GNU Kitchen, managed by Salem GNU co-owner Chef Roy Bene, opens in late spring. The new location will continue to be a stop for both Salem Food Tours and Salem Spirits Trolley.
“Salem Spice has been located on Pickering Wharf since 2011 providing high quality spices, rubs, teas, food inspiration, and kitchen tools,” says David Bowie, proprietor of Salem Spice and co-owner of the new Salem GNU Kitchen, “We have had a great time, supported friends who launched their own food businesses, and learned a lot about North Shore tastes. We are now poised to grow, and very happy to keep Pickering Wharf our home.”
There will be a two-part roll out, with spice blending and retail operations opening in mid-to-late March. Following, The Branch Olive Oil Company will continue their tradition of ultra-premium olive oils and balsamic vinegars. In May 2017, Salem GNU Kitchen plans to be open and ready for commercial clients with multiple stations designed for varying use.
“It gets its name (GNU, pronounced ‘new’) from a 1983 computer operating system that celebrates shared code,” says Bowie. “Transparency, efficiency, and public support that helps everyone. We encourage the sharing of tools, techniques, and skills in our open kitchen. Secondly – GNU is another name for Wildebeest, which implies we can help you cook anything. It’s just cool.”
Salem GNU Kitchen will provide a valuable and much needed space for catering professionals as well as for tours, seminars, culinary classes, and in-house created take-out foods. It will feature an allergen control area where food can be prepared in a clean environment free from any potential cross-contamination, using the high standards to ensure all products are safe.
Bowie says, “We look forward to serving both residents and visitors with high-quality products that will inspire creativity and providing a modern and well equipped kitchen that we hope will further Salem’s thriving culinary scene as well as be an incubator for great new ideas and products.”
Salem Spice will be moving from 75 Wharf Street. The Branch Olive Oil Company’s flagship location is in North Shore Mall in Peabody. Chef Roy Bene is a chef with a passion for farm-to-table cooking who is coming to Salem from Fort Worth, TX.
For further information, to schedule a tour, contact kitchen@salemspice.com.
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