Today we’d like to introduce you to Carmelle and Vincent Martinez.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Vincent started brewing right after we got married, about 10 years ago. He really enjoyed making beer and learning about beer. His love of brewing led to trying different craft beer at various growler bars in the Dallas area. After joking with some friends about starting a growler bar of his own while drinking, he decided to actually try and research the process while sober. He put together a business plan with a very convincing argument for me and totally won me over.
I never really drank craft beer at that point but I fell in love with the idea of what most people would consider a dream job – drinking beer and making new friends and then getting to hang out with them all day? Who would’ve said no to that? So we started looking for financing soon after. That felt like the longest part of the process. After the financing was secure, we started the long process of construction. We had a few bumps along the way, including changing our name from our original name, The Rustic Growler. Turns out there was a trademark on the words “The Rustic”. But we held a contest to figure out a new name from our very small pool of Facebook and Instagram fans which, at the time, were mainly made up of our friends and family.
My good friend from college and her husband that live in Michigan came up with the name. They won the prize of a free growler but we keep begging them to come down and visit Texas so we can buy them a beer for coming up with the best name ever. When we were designing our place it was really important that we include very specific details about what we wanted. We wanted a ski lodge feel that could feel like a great date spot or a place to bring your dog to hang out or even a spot to bring your kids and be in a laid-back atmosphere. These details became involved in every detail of our planning and creating. We had storage shelves created for games so that kids can hopefully (fingers crossed) be distracted enough so that their parents can enjoy a beer or wine or two. Our patio is covered for hot weather and has a fire pit for the cold to allow for the dogs to hang out comfortably there.
The patio is not incredibly large but we did what we could to create an area perfect for patio weather as well as for those crisp evenings we seem to get a lot of in Texas. We also include wine on our menu so that couples out there that have 1 beer lover and 1 wine lover can have a nice place to grab some drinks and hang out. We decided, as with most growler bars in the area, to not mess with a kitchen and instead allow our customers to bring in or have food delivered. When we see customers come in with several bags from Chick-Fil-A, for example, we are so excited because it’s just one more aspect of our plan for the bar that we see unfolding. People really love the ability to have any type of food they’re in the mood for along with a great beer or wine. We adore dogs so much that we have a dog menu so that our customers can buy their furry friends treats while at our bar.
While Vincent loves our 2 senior beagles very much, it’s mainly my dream to drink beer and pet dogs all day long. The dogs that visit our patio are very much our customers too. We have created a wall inside our bar dedicated to them called #dogsofcorkandgrowler. We beg customers to bring in 4×6 framed pictures of their dogs, the crazier the frame the better, and we hang it up on the wall. We already have quite a few on our wall and it makes us so happy. Craft beer education is very important to us and it is why we hired the bartenders we hired. We never want to make craft beer seem like a clique and snobby. We want people to walk into our bar and feel like they can ask questions and find out exactly which beer is a good fit for them. We believe that there is a beer for everyone and we want to help find that beer for each person.
We have information about craft beer scattered all over the decor so that those people who have never been exposed to craft beer can learn while they try it for the first time. When construction was almost finished, Vincent and I finally realized that we were actually going to be able to live our dream. We wanted to make sure that we were able to help people with our bar. I started reaching out to different organizations that give back to the community to volunteer our location as a venue and then extended that same offer to dog rescue groups so they could hold adoption events on our patio. Vincent and I very passionate about helping others and we kind of wanted to prove that you can do that even with a bar as your business.
A lot of times people can think the worst about bars. Vincent and I want to make sure that people know that bars can be a good thing too. I think we were able to achieve that, in the short 6 months we’ve been open. The best thing though, about our bar is our customers. We have the very best regulars in the world. I remember about 2 months after we opened telling Vincent that our bar reminded me of Cheers- we have some sarcastic bartenders, know-it-all regulars, and people that just love to drink at a neighborhood bar. How is that not a good time? I mean, really?
At the end of the day, our bar is a small family business that is a result of 2 people following their dreams. Literally, in the first month of opening, when Vincent and I hadn’t slept more than 2-3 hours a night, we used to look at each other before we went to bed and say “Hey. We might be exhausted but we’re having fun, aren’t we?” And honestly, though it’s super tough to start a new business with 3 small boys, we are still having a blast.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It was definitely not a smooth road and the biggest struggle was our name change from The Rustic Growler to Cork & Growler. Other than that, we’ve made sure we’ve had fun at every step in the process. Vincent and I felt very strong about not only building our dream but enjoying the journey to get there.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Cork & Growler was designed with a Colorado ski lodge to feel for Texas enjoyment but with the deep affection for craft beer in mind. Both Vincent and I grew up in the DFW area and we wanted to make sure you could see evidence of those Texas roots in the bar as well. I am obsessed with dogs and Vincent is obsessed with Baylor and we’re both obsessed with good beer and wine and you can see evidence of all of this with our bar.
It is our 4th child and we love it as a child. We try to keep our craft beer enthusiast customers happy as well as making sure our new customers aren’t too intimidated with our constantly changing menu. We also want to make sure the local businesses of Texas have our support because we’re all in this together.
What were you like growing up?
I am the oldest of 6 children, with 2 sets of twins in my family. I grew up just a few miles from where our bar is now, in The Colony. I am loud, aggressive and speak my mind freely. I went to college in Kentucky on an academic scholarship, played no sports and read a lot of books. Vincent, on the other hand, grew up in Garland and went to school in Dallas at First Baptist Academy. He is an only child with a very quiet demeanor and is a great listener. He went to college at Baylor University and played football since elementary school eventually becoming a quarterback in high school and cornerback at Baylor. We are complete opposites but when it comes to our partnership in marriage and business, it works perfectly.
Pricing:
- 1/2 price wine on Tuesdays
- 20% off growler fills on Mondays from 11am-3pm
Contact Info:
- Address: 8979 FM 423 Ste 100 Frisco, TX 75034
- Website: www.corkandgrowler.com
- Phone: 469-980-7499
- Email: info@corkandgrowler.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corkandgrowler/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CorkAndGrowler
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Corkandgrowler
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cork-and-growler-frisco?osq=cork+and+growler
Image Credit:
@billtheboston, LeeAnne Koehrsen, Steve Moyles
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
