Meet Reneé Rowe of The Wine Cellars in Smyrna

Today we’d like to introduce you to Reneé Rowe.

Reneé, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have enjoyed wine and all its essences for as long as I can remember – at least during my college years. I worked in corporate America for several years before my company was sold and I opted not to move with the company to San Diego. My husband and I spoke about starting some type of small business. We took a 6-week diploma wine course together in Atlanta, and that set the wheels in motion. We wanted to open a wine shop. I reached out to a gentleman that I saw in a Black Enterprise Magazine article, who owned a local wine distribution company here in Atlanta. I asked if we could buy him lunch in exchange for a bit of insight into the wine industry. He put me in contact with a local wine merchant so that I could acquire some knowledge in running a wine shop, who was then one of the owners of Ansley Wine Merchants located in Midtown.

I stopped by and met with the gentleman the following week, who asked me when I could start work? I told him I could start whenever he wanted me to. He asked if I could be back at noon, and of course, I said yes. I worked there for about a year before I became pregnant with my first child, Myles, who is now 16 years old. While working there, I was allowed to take gift basket orders and I started making custom wine gift baskets. In 1998, my husband and I opened an online store began selling gift baskets and wine accessories online.

In 2004, while expecting our second child, Christian, now 12 – we opened our current brick-and-mortar location the metro Atlanta area known as Smyrna.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Wow. It has definitely not been a smooth road. We began this journey with having to work with the city to have the area where our shop is located rezoned. In addition, the bottom fell out of the economy around 2008 and we found ourselves struggling to stay in business. We worked with city officials, attorneys, etc. to be able to offer wine by the glass at our location. That was definitely not a smooth road, but we accomplished it and have been successful with it. As a small business owner, every day is a struggle. There are always challenges and obstacles presented.

The Wine Cellars, Inc. – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Wine Cellars specializes in fine wine and gifts from around the world, and we are a Wi-Fi enabled wine café. Our company specializes in wines for every individual. We are known throughout Atlanta for our great palate. That means being able to make wine suggestions for everyone, based on whatever type of wine someone may enjoy. We are known for our recommendations for the novice wine drinker up to the ultimate wine connoisseur or collector. We taste everything that comes in our door. And work very hard to make sure that you walk out with something that you’re going to love.

I think one of the things that sets our business apart is our staff. And the fact that we want every person who walks in the door to feel comfortable and at home in our establishment. We also strive to do our part to give back to our local community and have donated close to $70,000 since we have been in business to non-profits and those in need through our annual charity event, the Smyrna Wine Stroll which is held in May every year.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
This has been one incredible journey. But the thing that stands out most…well actually there are two: being selected to participate in an American Express Open Forum video series about small business owners and then being selected to be part of their national commercial for Small Business Saturday in 2013, and being 1 of only 100 small business owners from across the country selected to participate in Yelp’s Coast-to-Coast event this past November, sharing and exchanging information with other small business owners.

Pricing:

• $5 or Free* Wine Tastings Every Saturday
• Wines offered by the glass daily starting at only $5 per glass
• Atlanta’s Best Wine Club starting at less than $36 per month

Contact Info:

• Address: 1295 W. Spring St. SE., Suite 100
  Smyrna, GA 30080
• Website: http://WineCellarsOnline.com
• Phone: (770) 437-1753
• Email: info@winecellarsonline.com
• Instagram: thewinecellars
• Facebook: TheWineCellarsInc
• Twitter: @thewinecellars
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-wine-cellars-wine-shop-and-wine-bar-smyrna-2
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wine-cellars?trk=biz-companies-cym