With its groves of trees, milling of olive oil, plus outdoor eating, a restaurant, tours and shopping, the Queen Creek Olive Mill has evolved into an agritourism destination.
“We’re not in the global olive oil business. We’re in entertainment or agritourism,” said Perry Rea, founder of the mill. “And agritourism is an interesting industry because really, it’s a farmer who has a passion in what he does and then he converts that product into something that he can sell to the consumer. We’re very vertically integrated. We grow our olives, we harvest our olives, we produce the oil, we bottle our own product.”
And they invite the public to see how it’s done. Queen Creek Oil Mill is the only such large-scale business in Arizona, as well as the sole mill within a 500-mile radius. It makes for a great trip whether you’re in the West Valley, close by in Apache Junction and Florence or living right in the mill’s backyard in Queen Creek.
