Olives café opened in 2003. The café has been providing a warm space with its friendly staff and quality menu. Olives is the place to go for a hearty British breakfast or delicious glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. With its vintage décor, the well-loved jukebox, and their brilliantly crafted menu there’s no doubt as to why it remains a fan favourite.
I recently had the pleasure to interview the co-owner, Jo Marsden (wife of Mick Marsden), with her welcoming attitude, her work ethic, and all the love and care that goes into each meal. I knew that this interview had to be shared.
Why did you start olives?
Mick started Olives basically as a delicatessen, There was only one particular cheese shop back in the day in Norwich, that was St Georges Hill, and he loved cheese so he thought what better way of getting hold of cheese than to open my own deli, that’s the reason that it’s called Olives, they also sold different types of olives and olive oils.
Tell me about the décor and jukebox
So, the posters are definitely from Mick, he is a big music fan, back in the day Olives use to be used to introduce new music to Norwich. He’d have bands come across from lots of European countries and America. It used to be a music venue in the evenings.
I’m the one who put the colour in, we have red and green stoneware, so I got those colours mixed up and slowly took over by painting the restaurant walls.
We actually have three jukeboxes, but only one here, it’s a feature that we know pleases customers, it’s something you don’t see very often. The good thing is we can put our own music on there, it’s great because we get to listen to our favourite tracks.
What’s the best part of running Olives?
The cheesy answer to that, which is also true, is you get to be part of people stories. Theres things like birthdays, graduations, engagement parties, and families coming in. As well as working with a great group of people.
What’s the hardest part of running Olives
Always worrying about it, you can never let it be. It always bubbling away in the background, you know, change the washer, the fryers on its way out, we need some more oil. You can never totally turn off, but that’s probably the same with most jobs.
What’s the best item to order?
We cater for all diets and have all sizes of breakfast and brunch items. You can have something small and delicious like the benedict or something more filling like the cheesy gorillas, the big barbeque breakfast, or even the classic Olive’s which really ticks the box of a full English breakfast.
So, there you have it! The next time you’re out and about in Norwich head to Olives, kick back and relax with the welcoming staff, delicious food and vintage music playing from the free to use jukebox.
