Many of you might be wondering why or who would be excited to open a small business during such challenging times. Is it a smart move with COVID still lingering in the city? How much longer will the virus last? Will the economy bounce back to support a new business? How much more loss of socialization, fellowship and face-to-face relationships can we, as a community, endure? I ask myself these tough questions every day, and I find that it drives me to press on…
Every Saturday I drive around a different part of Dallas to get an idea of what is happening in some of the more popular shopping and sociable areas, and I see how the COVID crisis is literally crushing the American dream for so many hundreds of people throughout the city, every single week. I see retail shops – chains and boutiques, restaurants, bars, breweries, franchises, and places you never would have imagined closing their doors forever. No matter how you feel about what is happening in this country, our small businesses – our American families – are paying a price.
Seeing the aftermath of these hard times, I am heart-broken while simultaneously optimistic to know that there may be an opportunity that didn’t exist before and that it may present the right place and the right start for a new American dream. It will finally be time to build the brick and mortar wine shop that will represent all that I have told you about each week in these blogs. It may seem strange to feel this way, and I didn’t choose the timing of how this would all happen, but I have to stay positive to see what “will be” in order to believe that there is a future where my new business will not only survive, but thrive.
The reason I am positive that this will happen is because Wine Culture was created to bring communities, friends and loved ones, together, which is exactly what we have been missing. It will be a place to build those “face-to-face” relationships; to provide the social environment that we so desperately desire and to feel that human connection to one another again. Wine Culture is an opportunity to give back to those who have felt alone or in need of a break, or just in need of personal contact throughout these last few crazy months. It will be a place to be a part of a new, inclusive and welcoming community where wine may be at the center of what brings us together, but it is the love that surrounds it that matters the most.
This isn’t exactly what I planned to write about today, as this week has been all about wine quizzes and tasting reviews in order to complete the WSET Level 2 online class. However, this is what keeps me going and what I have truly been thinking about over the past few weeks. It’s what I needed to say and I hope that perhaps it’s a message of hope that you needed to hear. This business and this next step in my life is not just a dream, but has become more of a calling. It is my part in giving back to a country, a city, and a community in need. I joined the military to be a part of something bigger than myself and I have wondered how I will find that feeling again, and now I know…
Wine Culture will be the story of how the love of wine cultivated relationships and built a renewed sense of community in a post-COVID environment.
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