From left: Jenna Cheney, Marc Cram and Amber Hatfield-Matzke of Wine Whisperer. (Photo courtesy of Wine Whisperer)
A wine store has uncorked a bar and other new features about a year after it first opened in Short Pump.
Wine Whisperer recently wrapped up an expansion project that added a bar with food service, private event space and patio to the retail shop the company opened about a year ago at 11535 W. Broad St., at the intersection of Broad and Pump Road in the Short Pump Crossing shopping center.
The store reopened this month with its new features after being temporarily closed during the summer and fall for the expansion. As part of that project, Wine Whisperer took over an adjacent storefront, bringing it to a total of 2,400 square feet.
The added elements come as a way to drive further business at the store, co-owner and CEO Marc Cram said.
“They’re cogs in a watch. They work and feed off each other. We hope someone will grab a glass of wine at the bistro and want to buy a couple bottles on the way out the door,” Cram said.
Cram declined to share the investment made in the space.
“There’s enough capital going into it to make it a special place,” he said. “I’m hopeful we can bring a different wine experience to Richmond.”
Wine Whisperer’s storefront in Short Pump Crossing shopping center. (BizSense file)
The store’s bar brings with it a small-plate menu of items like cheeses and charcuterie, in addition to sales of wine by the glass.
“We’re a wine-driven restaurant. Our goal is to provide rotating specials or features based on wine flights we’re featuring at the moment,” Food and Beverage Director Amber Hatfield-Matzke said.
Most of the bottles sold by the store run about $20 to $45, though some wines range upward of several hundred dollars.
“We’re focused on small-producer, high-end wines,” Hatfield-Matzke said.
Hatfield-Matzke recently joined co-founders Cram and Jenna Cheney, the company’s wine director, as part of Wine Whisperer’s expansion. The trio co-own the company. Hatfield-Matzke was previously at The Wine Seller in Williamsburg.
Cram said an expansion of the concept has been on the drawing board for a while.
“Jenna and I agreed from the beginning that having an area for private wine tastings and classes to teach wine would be very important to our mission and help people enjoy life a bit more through wine,” he said.
Cram and Cheney met three or four years ago at their store’s nearby competitor, the Total Wine & More in Short Pump Crossing, where Cram was a customer in need of help and Cheney was an employee.
“The first time I walked in I was like, ‘Man, this is a nice store.’ I asked some questions and was told I had to talk to Jenna. She was the smartest and most helpful salesperson I’ve encountered in any big box retail store,” said Cram, who’s also a financial planner at Morgan Stanley.
Cram said Cheney became his go-to person when it came to buying wine, and after they got to know each other over a couple years, he pitched her on the idea of a wine shop of their own.
Wine Whisperer is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Wine Whisperer is upping the ante just as a Northern Virginia winery is planning a wine bar in Shockoe Bottom.
From left: Jenna Cheney, Marc Cram and Amber Hatfield-Matzke of Wine Whisperer. (Photo courtesy of Wine Whisperer)
A wine store has uncorked a bar and other new features about a year after it first opened in Short Pump.
Wine Whisperer recently wrapped up an expansion project that added a bar with food service, private event space and patio to the retail shop the company opened about a year ago at 11535 W. Broad St., at the intersection of Broad and Pump Road in the Short Pump Crossing shopping center.
The store reopened this month with its new features after being temporarily closed during the summer and fall for the expansion. As part of that project, Wine Whisperer took over an adjacent storefront, bringing it to a total of 2,400 square feet.
The added elements come as a way to drive further business at the store, co-owner and CEO Marc Cram said.
“They’re cogs in a watch. They work and feed off each other. We hope someone will grab a glass of wine at the bistro and want to buy a couple bottles on the way out the door,” Cram said.
Cram declined to share the investment made in the space.
“There’s enough capital going into it to make it a special place,” he said. “I’m hopeful we can bring a different wine experience to Richmond.”
Wine Whisperer’s storefront in Short Pump Crossing shopping center. (BizSense file)
The store’s bar brings with it a small-plate menu of items like cheeses and charcuterie, in addition to sales of wine by the glass.
“We’re a wine-driven restaurant. Our goal is to provide rotating specials or features based on wine flights we’re featuring at the moment,” Food and Beverage Director Amber Hatfield-Matzke said.
Most of the bottles sold by the store run about $20 to $45, though some wines range upward of several hundred dollars.
“We’re focused on small-producer, high-end wines,” Hatfield-Matzke said.
Hatfield-Matzke recently joined co-founders Cram and Jenna Cheney, the company’s wine director, as part of Wine Whisperer’s expansion. The trio co-own the company. Hatfield-Matzke was previously at The Wine Seller in Williamsburg.
Cram said an expansion of the concept has been on the drawing board for a while.
“Jenna and I agreed from the beginning that having an area for private wine tastings and classes to teach wine would be very important to our mission and help people enjoy life a bit more through wine,” he said.
Cram and Cheney met three or four years ago at their store’s nearby competitor, the Total Wine & More in Short Pump Crossing, where Cram was a customer in need of help and Cheney was an employee.
“The first time I walked in I was like, ‘Man, this is a nice store.’ I asked some questions and was told I had to talk to Jenna. She was the smartest and most helpful salesperson I’ve encountered in any big box retail store,” said Cram, who’s also a financial planner at Morgan Stanley.
Cram said Cheney became his go-to person when it came to buying wine, and after they got to know each other over a couple years, he pitched her on the idea of a wine shop of their own.
Wine Whisperer is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Wine Whisperer is upping the ante just as a Northern Virginia winery is planning a wine bar in Shockoe Bottom.