History

In the spring of 2012 Zenobia Taylor-Weiss was a fresh college graduate. During her college years Zenobia was deeply inspired by the writings of Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollen, and Wendell Berry, particularly their thoughts on food, the local economy, and community. Because of this Zenobia had a deep desire to eat local foods and support local farmers, since she was working as an intern and didn’t have a lot of extra money she figured the most economical way for her to do this would be to buy seasonal food in bulk from farmers and learn to preserve it. She bought herself a canning pot, some Ball jars, and a canning cookbook and made her first ever jam: Strawberry. She was terrified that she would cause her loved ones to die from botulism poisoning, but she was also very excited, making jam clicked with her in a way nothing before ever had. Over the next few years she didn’t end up saving money because she started canning everything she could get her hands on and seeking out fancy additions to add to her creations (hello, vanilla beans).

Inspired by her own self taught journey Zenobia started her first business, preZerve, with a friend - they taught canning classes throughout the mid-Atlantic. preZerve ended when Zenobia took a job in Beirut, Lebanon for a year working with refugees. While she was living in the Mediterranean she never quit making jam and loved experimenting with different flavors and learning about the rich history of canning in Lebanon. It was while she was living there the idea for Cellar Door Preserves was born.

After her time in the Middle East Zenobia moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan with a mission to start a preserve business. She had gone to college in Grand Rapids and had fallen in love with the city, she also knew that some of the best fruit in the world was grown along the West Coast of Michigan in the “fruit ridge”. Cellar Door was officially launched in the spring of 2017 and worked out of the shared incubator kitchen at the Downtown Market for 2.5 years. In November 2019 Cellar Door moved to its current location 511 Leonard St. NE. The current space houses the production kitchen, storage facility, and offices for Cellar Door.