Since last I blogged I have gone through round 2 of "the crud." Coughed so violently that I'm pretty sure I broke a rib. Thus, Nyquil or it's knockoff counterpart has become my new best friend. It allows me to sleep!!::contented sigh:: On New Year's Day...I slept. Got up at 11:30 a.m. because I needed to eat and take medication. Went back to bed at 12:25 and slept until 5 p.m. I desperately needed the rest. After that, I finally began to get better...I think.::crossed fingers::
As my time off began to wind down, wouldn't you know it...I think I found a new site for the winery. Ron and I met with the designer, painter and cabinet man today to measure the space so that the original plans can be tweaked. This space is 1875 square feet and sits in a shopping center between a book store and a sports nutrition store. There's an El Chico and a 24 Hour Fitness along with Bealls, Cici's, Radio Shack and Hallmark in the center. The foot traffic there should be good and the parking is plentiful. As far as the site goes, it isn't going to need a lot of tear out/patch back. In fact, the only "tear out" is about 20 inches off the length of one wall. I need to remove some raw wood planks that were someone's idea of decor ::shrug:: and finish out two walls and install doors. Other than that...it's all cosmetic. We will spray the drop-down ceiling black (an effort to save money at this point), paint the walls, touch up the stained concrete floor, and decorate. I cut way back on the finish out of the bar and the total number of wine racks. Hopefully the new layout will drop the plumbing bill as well. We'll see.
I have a drawing of the space along with some photos that show the layout. Because of the format of the drawing I am unable to post the image but I have included the photos. The front of the building is shielded by a green canopy which will help block the afternoon/early evening sun. The entire front is windows. When you enter the front door, the bar and wining room will be out front. To the left the first inset will be a merchandise room (wine shirts, decorative glasses, wine paraphernalia such as stoppers, aerators, bath salts and bubble bath, Scentsy products, etc.). Directly behind that will be the batching room. To the right of the batching room will be the stockroom where wine will be stored once it has been bottled, labeled, corked and sealed...awaiting placement in the wine racks. In front of that (and to the right as you enter the store) is a short hallway and the unisex restroom. The restroom is already handicapped equipped so all I have to do is paint and decorate in there!
The "before" pictures give a fairly accurate portrayal of the space as it currently sits. Hopefully in a couple of months we will have some "after" pictures to compare them with.
The Front
Inside the front door
The Restroom
The Stock Room
The Batching Room
Another View of the Batching Room
The Floor
The Merchandise Room
Another View from the front corner
I think this place is significantly better than the Harbor location for several reasons...shorter lease available, cheaper rent, less site renovation, less "oversight" by leasor, and no percentage of profits due to leasor. If things don't work out this time...I'm giving up on the retail part of the business and will either do online sales only or brew wine for personal consumption and friends only. Keep your fingers...and maybe your toes, too...crossed until you hear more from me!
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