The Sciabica family's journey into the world of olive oil began in the sunny Italian town of Marsala in Sicily, a land famous for its olives and golden liquid. It was here, in the late 1800's, that Nicola (Nick) Sciabica learned the ancient art of olive oil production.

After immigrating to America, Nick’s heart longed for the warmth and flavors of the Mediterranean. He moved his family west to a small farm in Modesto, California, and in 1936—armed with generations of olive oil wisdom from Italy—the Sciabica Family began cold-pressing California olives. They relied on the ancient craft of pressing heavy sacks of olive paste, slowly squeezing the oil from the fruit, just as it had been done for centuries.

Nicola’s son, Joseph, took on the olive oil business with a missionary’s zeal. His energy, values, and relentless focus on people are still woven into how we operate today, driven by a belief that defines us: “We’re not in the olive oil business. We’re in the customer happiness business.”

For decades, Joseph Sciabica split his time between the two coasts of the US. In California, he would spend each olive harvest milling olive oil, then ship it back to Waterbury, Connecticut, selling largely to Italian immigrant communities.

Joseph’s sons, Nick (left) and Daniel (right), at work feeding fresh olives into the presses. Their commitment and perseverance ensured the survival of the family business and laid the foundation for generations to come.

Joseph grew the business at farmers markets and restaurants. He would literally sell restaurant door-to-door with a typewriter in hand, typing up sales tags on the fly.

The Sciabica Family blazed a new path for American olive oil, introducing the modern olive oil mill to the United States. By moving beyond traditional presses and embracing centrifugal extraction, we ushered in a new era—one defined by cleaner oil, fresher flavor, and uncompromising quality.

In the late '80s, they blazed a trail by pioneering "single varietal" olive oils, treating each olive type like fine wine, savoring olive oils from Buttery-Sweet to Peppery & Robust, depending on the olive and season. In the 90's, the Sciabica's introduced the first "Agrumato-Method" flavored olive oils. By pressing fresh fruits and herbs with the olives, they crafted unparalleled flavor.

From our first gold medals at the California State Fair in the late 1950s to Best of Show honors across decades, Sciabica’s legacy is built on excellence. Since 1936, our family-crafted extra virgin olive oils — including our award-winning flavored oils — have earned innumerable gold and Best of Show recognitions at state and national competitions.

Today, still 100% family-owned, three generations work side by side to carry on our family tradition. Nick (Gen 3), Daniel (Gen 3), Jonathan (Gen 4), Christa (Gen 4), Nick Jr. (Gen 5), and Andrew (Gen 5). And it’s all because of our wonderful family of customers that we get to do what we love—crafting customer happiness, one bottle at a time.