ASHERTON, Texas – There's a different kind of oil bloom happening only two hours southwest of San Antonio: The olive oil business.
The Texas Olive Ranch has been around for more than a decade and is taking off and expanding. Rows and rows of olive trees lay just outside of Carrizo Springs. The ranch has 40,000 olive trees in total.
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"Why pick this place?" asked ranch owner Jim Henry. "Right over here in Asherton, there are four olive trees that have been here for almost 100 years."
"Not everywhere in Texas can grow olives to replace the downturn in the oil and gas business, but it is an idea."
The ranch has been so successful, it expanded operations to Victoria. It's a $5 million project that will eventually have 300,000 trees sitting on 380 acres.
"Are you surprised that this olive business has taken off the way that it has?" asked Tony Correa, who works at the ranch. "Here in Texas, yeah, it's something new around here."
Correa grew up in Asherton and never dreamed he'd be taking care of an olive ranch.
"We can compete with imported oils because the oil is fresh, it's processed correctly and it tastes good," Henry said.
Texas Olive Ranch sells about 25,000 bottles of olive oil per year. It's available online and at stores across the state.