Today we’d like to introduce you to Rhonda and Kirk Chandler.
Rhonda and Kirk, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
We purchased La Cave Warehouse in 2013 from business founder Francois Chandou. Immediately after purchase, we moved La Cave Warehouse to its current location at 2263 Valdina Street #120 expanding the wine tasting/event area and the retail store area while maintaining the capacity for private client storage. Prior to the purchase of La Cave, Kirk was a consultant focusing on the turnaround of manufacturing companies increasing profit margins to prepare them for sale to investment firms. Rhonda worked part time while raising our children, but had prior experience as an executive assistant of a $26M manufacturing firm. We have always been avid wine consumers; admittedly drinking wine daily. We have had the opportunity to travel extensively and always included winery visits on every trip we could. Kirk’s family lived in France and he grew up drinking wine at the dinner table. Buying a wine shop just seemed to meld one of our favorites hobbies with our careers and family.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There are always challenges when running a business. The day that we bought La Cave and took over in March of 2013, we received a notice cancelling the lease on that space. To say that it sent us for a loop is an understatement. We were just trying to get our footing, and we then had to figure out where we would go, find a space, build it out, and then move over 110,000 bottles of wine while keeping them cool. It was a huge learning curve, but about a year later we moved to the new space which is just fantastic by comparison to the old location. Everything works out for the best if you can just put your head down and work through it.
Please tell us about La Cave Warehouse.
La Cave Warehouse is a concierge level retail wine boutique and private wine storage facility founded in Dallas in 1977. We specialize in French wines, with some representation of wine from around the world. Our focus is to offer wines for sale that are appellation specific from small growers with some of the highest standards of winemaking in the industry. La Cave has the most extensive collection of perfectly stored and aged wines for sale in the South. All the wines for sale at La Cave have been received through distributors upon release and stored at 55 degrees F with 60-70% humidity since receipt at La Cave. La Cave regularly hosts free wine tastings several times a month, as well as occasional wine dinners, and winemaker events. What we are most proud of at La Cave is also what makes us different than other retailers. First, all of our wines (both retail and client owned) are all temperature controlled and laid down while in our possession. No wine is kept above 55 degrees F, no wine stands up – ever. This ensures that the wine is as perfect as possible when it is purchased or removed from La Cave. It is the best way to preserve and age the wine just as the winemaker would. Second, we taste every wine we sell. We select wine that we would drink. When our clients come in, we have a discussion with each individual, find out what they like, and make suggestions for them based on those conversations. We make every effort to give the client a bottle that they will love at the price point they are looking for. It is the personal relationships that we have with our clients that sets us apart from other retailers.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Honestly, we wouldn’t have changed much. It might be nicer to be in a more visible location with more foot traffic, but as we have 11,0000 sq ft., of which 8,000 sq ft is client storage that just isn’t feasible from an accounting perspective. So we are a little off the beaten path, and you have to come look for us to find us. Sometimes though, that’s where the hidden gems are found.
Pricing:
- We carry every day wines to special occasions and rare bottles with pricing from $10 – $4500 per bottle and everywhere in between.
Contact Info:
- Address: La Cave Warehouse
2263 Valdina St., #120,
Dallas, TX 75207 - Website: www.lacavewareshouse.com
- Phone: 214 747 9463
- Email: rhonda@lacavewarehouse.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lacavewarehouse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaCaveWarehouse/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaCaveWarehouse
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-cave-warehouse-dallas-3
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