ORANGE SLICES
Big Spoon Roasters.
Peanut butter is the key to happiness. Peanut butter made with the freshest, simplest ingredients. Ask Mark Overbay, who at the turn of the millinneum had a peanut butter epiphany in Zimbabwe. It was there, working as a Peace Corps Volunteer, that he taught himself to make his favorite food (peanut butter, of course) by roasting the nuts and grinding them with stones. Mark added honey, sea salt, and coconut oil and it was the best thing he’d ever tasted. The experience was also a revelation: the best foods are often the simplest — made with fresh ingredients, care, and craft.
Megan Overbay’s philosophy of food is the same. When she and Mark met, in 2010 at Super Bowl party in Durham, among the passions they shared was one for food, transparency, and sustainability. By then Mark was working for Counter Culture Coffee, and Megan — a pescatarian endurance athlete — was using nut butter as a primary source of nutrition. During the culinary renaissance that included everything from artisan bread, coffee, and craft beer, both of them noticed that peanut butter was left behind as a mass-produced commodity. Newer brands emerged claiming to be “natural,” but none took the care in ingredient sourcing, freshness, and small-batch production they were passionate about. After working on recipes and packaging for a few months, they sold their first jars and protein bars as Big Spoon Roasters at a cyclocross (bicycle) race at The Orange County Speedway in January 2011.
Big Spoon Roasters at Hillsborough Chamber Gala.
Partnerships in marriage and business by people with similar values but different talents can be the secret ingredient to success in love, marriage and business. And peanut butter.
“My business background helped,” Megan says. “When I met Mark in 2010, I was the Director of Admissions for Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. After we launched Big Spoon and it was clear that it had huge potential, we decided that Mark would leave his job to focus full-time on our new business, and I would provide a stable paycheck and insurance. I was involved in decisions about the strategy and operations of the business, and Mark handled the day-to-day of establishing and running it.”
Mark agrees, of course. “We’re a good team,” Mark says. “We invested $5,000 of our money and built a company out of sweat equity, shared beliefs, and building up a team with living wages and strong benefits.”
Official taste-tasters. Staff at the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau give Big Spoon Roasters a big thumbs up.
From left: Patty Griffin, Tina Fuller, Hannah Hemphill and Pix Walsh.
One turning point for the company came in 2022 when they moved operations from Durham to a larger facility at 500 Meadowlands Drive in Hillsborough. The 20,000 square feet of space in the building, with room for growth, helped ensure Big Spoon will be calling Hillsborough home for the foreseeable future, even as the company continues to expand.
Mark O’Neal and Emilee Collins with Pickett Sprouse, and Jack Moore and Pete Zseleczky with Gateway Building Co., were instrumental in assisting the Overbays identify the best-fit real estate opportunities for Big Spoon’s expansion.
Gary Overbay is Mark’s dad and the company’s namesake.
The company name is a tribute to Mark’s dad, Gary, who is known to eat big spoons full of peanut butter straight from the jar, a habit that long ago earned him the nickname.
Today, Gary Overbay, would have to count Peanut Pecan Butter as his favorite Big Spoon recipe.
“Big Spoon” among family and friends. Keeping it in the family, Mark and Megan’s beloved dogs – Rioja and Grüner — have pitched in countless hours of taste testing, jar cleaning, and support over the years. A deep love for their furry family members inspired the launch of the Wag Butter line of peanut butters, specifically designed for dogs’ unique nutritional needs.
Megan and Mark Overbay with Rioja and Grüner.
After selling primarily at the Carrboro and Durham farmers markets during its first year, Big Spoon Roasters opened up wholesale sales in 2012 and began building a national following through independent specialty stores, coffee shops, and regional grocers. In 2014, Big Spoon started selling locally to Whole Foods Market, who named them South Region Supplier of the Year in 2021, propelling them to expand into the grocer’s Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. With products now found in hundreds of retailers throughout the U.S. and a handful in Europe, Big Spoon Roasters also has a thriving e-commerce business and ships to customers in every state almost daily.
Big Spoon Nut butter bars were a favorite of the Saturday Night Live cast.
“We believe in the simple truth that our food choices matter,” Mark says, “and that food should be delicious, nutritious, and good for both people and the planet.”
Peanut butter is that food, and Megan and Mark are the perfect people to bring it to us. Some dreams are so smart and simple they can fit inside a big spoon.
The couple loves to experiment with locally made products.
Upcoming Opportunities to Sample Big Spoon Nut Butter and Nut Bars
Big Spoon Roasters Holiday Gift Market
A free, public event on December 7 & 14, 2024 from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm at Big Spoon Roasters HQ in Hillsborough, NC. Come one, come all, bring your taste buds.
Contact Info:
Lemon Cookie Butter is a favorite of Megan’s. She likes to add granola and fruit.
Laurie Paolicelli is executive director for the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, a position she has held since 2005. Laurie has worked in tourism and marketing for twenty-five years, having served in leadership roles in Houston and California convention and visitor bureaus. She is a native of the Twin Ports of Duluth, MN/Superior Wisconsin. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Communications from the University Wisconsin-Superior and graduate certification in Technology In Marketing from the UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media.
This reporter can be reached at Info@TheLocalReporter.press
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