Location: Ventura
Established: June 2007
Number of Employees: 10

Boutique wine store, cheese market, wine bar and café

www.paradisepantry.com

Kelly Briglio and Tina Lebar have both always loved wine and cheese - separately. When they began to imagine all the possible combinations of wine and cheese under one roof, the idea for Paradise Pantry was born. Kelly and Tina worked together at a previous restaurant, but would need significant capital to make their dream a reality. Fortunately, WEV’s Small Business Loan Fund approved the start-up loan needed, and Paradise Pantry opened in June 2007.

The business partners’ ability to learn from their mistakes and sense of humor have kept the business open and thriving during a down economy. In addition to their business savvy, Kelly’s culinary expertise paired with Tina’s vast wine knowledge keep customers happy, and returning to their piece of Paradise.

What prompted you to go into business for yourself?
Kelly was the chef/owner of Westside Cellar Restaurant down the street, known for eclectic cuisine and an exceptional wine list. Tina ran the front of the house and controlled wine purchasing. Westside was the first restaurant to have a “cheese menu,” which is where our mutual love (or addiction?) for cheese began. We loved wine and we loved cheese; once we put them together, we collectively created the “HOT SPOT” for wine and food pairings! Whenever we had time, we took road trips to other wine bars and cheese markets. However, we did not find a place that had it all: a wine store, cheese store, wine bar, wine tasting, wine and cheese pairing, and café. VOILA! The idea for Paradise Pantry was born!

What has been your biggest business challenge?
Going from “cheese lover” to “cheesemonger” is a HUGE change. We both had cheese knowledge, a lot of wine knowledge and even more restaurant (service) knowledge, but not much time in the “retail” business. We have tripped and blundered our way through a “burn and learn” way of running that side of our business - proof that hard work and humility pay off!

What has been your biggest business success?
Turning three years old, and feeling the confidence of many more to come…

Who is your ideal customer?
Our existing customers are our ideal customers. Seventy five percent of our business consists of weekly regulars. We know them by their first name and they love us and what we do!

What has been the biggest surprise about owning a business?
Continued and growing success in a wounded economy.

How do you juggle all the pieces of your life (family/work/self/volunteering) to make it all come together?
Everything apart from the business/work has to be placed to “the side” the majority of the time. We have the advantage of being surrounded by wine, so when things get to be unbalanced, we just pop open a favorite bottle, make ourselves a cheese plate, and REMEMBER TO LAUGH! Humor is key.

What advice do you offer other women who might want to start their own company?
Know your market and your customer base! Know the business and have “hands-on” experience in the industry of the business you choose to open. Be ready for sacrifice and hard work. Be humble and open minded. Have fun and remember, once again, to laugh!

What advice do you offer other business partners?
At the end of the day you should both want the same thing; it doesn’t matter if you both have different ways to get there. That’s what makes business great – we’re both different in the ways that we go about our business. As long as the underlying finish to the day is to serve the best product, have the best wine, make sure the staff is enjoying themselves, and love what we’re doing, then we can deal with whatever problems arise.

How did WEV help you to achieve your goal or dream?
WEV is the reason we are here today! With the funding from WEV’s Small Business Loan Fund, we were able to get a matching loan from the City of Ventura. Without the support from this special program, we would still be daydreaming about our little piece of Paradise.

What does ‘success’ mean to you?
We are almost where we want to be and will continue to experience a little discomfort as with any type of growing pains. We can visualize our success, however, which is a victory of sorts. We have what we love at our fingertips; total success would mean we get to a point in our business to live comfortable lives with a normal work schedule.

What is the biggest reward you get from your business? What makes it all worthwhile?
We had a complete love and passion for our business plan, took the plunge, accepted all the risks involved, and put in place the inventory, systems, and “soul” of our business. We are rewarded daily when reminded that our community loves, appreciates and supports what we created and try NEVER to take that for granted.

How do you picture you and your business in: one year? Five years? Ten years?
The overall concept of our business was achieved within the first year. We struggled with the market for the first six months but really strengthened our knowledge in running retail and managing a “high end” cheese market by the end of the year.

We wanted to be a little more flexible with our schedules by the second year, and hoped to be making a fair income. We also wanted a bigger staff and more time to create easier avenues in which to run the business. We achieved all of these goals, but are still learning. Our business has doubled in sales and exceeded our expectations when it came to wine, cheese, and food sales, but it took us a bit longer to get the right staffing in place.

By year three, we are hoping for a 30% increase in sales, along with a beautiful new patio and an expanded market.

In ten years we hope for continued success, but to be more of a presence. We can envision opening another location; with the way our little store keeps progressing, we can see that happening in more like six to seven years!

Is your business being affected by the economy now? And what are you doing to deal with this challenge?
Our business, like all other small businesses downtown, took a big hit. Thankfully, we have three major parts to our business under one roof: the cheese shop, the wine store, and the wine bar/café. One feeds off the other, feeds off the other, and so on. We started focusing on the food a little bit more, utilizing our amazing product, and using it in new menu items. The kitchen and its new menu brought in a big boost to overall foot traffic. With people drinking and eating, and trying and tasting, the sales of wine and cheese finally started to increase. Our catering increased, cheese and meat platters increased, we are donating to all sorts of local causes, and in turn, people are spreading the word!

Photography courtesy of Maria Carreras Photography: www.mariacarrerasphotography.com