Inside Olive Street Specials

Article by Derek Sikes - Photo by Peter Kappen - When I pulled up to Olive Street Specials with dusk setting in, I wasn’t sure what I was walking into. A quonset hut with a palmetto olive sign in a residential area made me think that maybe this was some “hip” bar gentrifying the neighborhood. After a warm greeting from Mike Muller and some friends, I was welcomed into the shop. Olive Street Specials looks like something straight out of an Anthony Hicks painting - a PG one, though. Killer chops lined up and projects in various states of build, old manual machining equipment, and a few guys and dogs standing around drinking yellow bellies (that’s Coors Banquet Beer). I was there to see my buddy Zach Gostelli and his 2021 Biltwell’s People’s Champ build. That was a while back, but I’ve kept in touch with Mike since then, and when ChopCult asked us to put together a Shop Q&A we were stoked to work together on it. Enjoy!