How did you get into the Wine Bar Industry:
Owning a wine bar was never a part of my career strategy! That is until my neighbor Jen, who moved to Arizona from Washington wine country in 2020, landed next door to me and asked where to find great wine tasting experiences in the area. In the metro Phoenix area, my answer was “no where”. While Arizona supports local wine regions in the northern and southern parts of the state, the Phoenix area is really just known for mass-produced, sugar-enhanced, big brands carried at your grocery and big box stores.
So after many wine exploration sessions in our living rooms and conversations about bringing great, boutique wines into the West Valley, we outlined our business plan: Turquoise Wine Bar was going to be the spot for amazing small-lot wines, wine education, spectacular culinary pairings, and the ultimate experience in wine community.
What’s new/unique in the Turquoise Wine Bar business?
Turquoise is unique to not only the metro Phoenix area but to any area in that we provide not only product and service, but experience. In our post-covid society, we have found that there is a lack of human connection and in-person experience. Turquoise was built with the mission of providing a wine community, and our customers have eagerly agreed that this is what they were missing in their lives.
Turquoise is a wine bar – featuring boutique wines made by small-lot winemakers, each with a unique story and delicious product.
Turquoise is a bottle shop – we sell wines you won’t find in your big box stores. Wines made naturally, product that you can feel good about purchasing.
Turquoise is an education resource – we love wine, and we love teaching about wine! Join us for regular tastings and classes to learn more about wine.
Turquoise is an experience – we welcome winemakers and wine reps for tasting events, pairings and catered dinners.
Turquoise is an event space – we host events of all sizes, including corporate events and private parties.
Turquoise is a wine club – join our monthly club and experience rare wines, special events, and community gatherings.
Turquoise is experience through travel – Turquoise Travel will lead group excursions through domestic and international wine destinations.
Challenges moving forward
While all businesses face challenges, our biggest hurdle today is real estate (we need growth faster than it’s available).
Turquoise has built not only a community of wine customers, but our internal workforce is family-centric. Our team genuinely cares about the business, the guests, and most of all each other. This is our basis for a successful company, and therefore we have not encountered workforce hurdles in the same way as many other wine bars and restaurants.
Goal for your business moving forward?
We want to grow the Turquoise franchise in Arizona, then expand to additional states. This model is not only a great business for an owner-operator to run, it’s a great business for community growth and human connection. We want our growth to reflect something bigger than just wine or sales – it highlights a community connection.
Training & Support:
Franchising with Turquoise comes complete with a full training itinerary and suite of marketing tools and support. The Turquoise leadership team will be hands-on with training you on everything from wine and culinary education to Human Resources and labor laws, profit & loss training, POS setup, social media scheduling, and more.
The ongoing support provided to all franchisees is one of the areas that sets Turquoise apart from all other. Between the leaders of Turquoise, this team has decades of experience in retail leadership, Human Resources, financial planning and assessment, retail operations, insurance and labor law, commercial real estate, creative and brand management, construction and tenant improvement projects, wine education and culinary education.
In addition to months of training and support, Turquoise has set up a marketing toolkit for each franchise owners, consisting of website template, social media templates, menus, flight cards, Wine 101 training course booklets, new hire booklets, business cards and flyers, POS set up, wine database creation, signage templates, brand guidelines, and more.
Difficulty in the business:
Ask any business owner in the metro Phoenix area, and they will agree that the biggest hurdle faced is seasonality, particularly in the summer months. Turquoise has built a successful business model revolving around a variety of revenue streams to generate ongoing sales and customer loyalty during these slower months.
Franchise Model:
Fee structure: We have a Franchise Fee of $45,000 for the franchise which includes training, onsite support, and marketing toolkit.
Territory definition: We will start with Arizona and expand. Within Arizona we can see a Southern territory including Tucson market and Phoenix metro which will divide into East Valley, West Valley, and North and South markets.
Day in the Life as a Turquoise Wine Bar Franchise Owner:
This is the perfect opportunity an energetic wine-lover (or wine-loving couple) to run a location with a few part time people for support. You will typically work 5 days a week with 12-8pm being a typical shift. As the business owner, you are the face of this community wine bar. It will be up to you to be a gracious host and build connections and establish a wine community in your area.
You will need to be able to pour wine and beer, accurately describe wines and be the “storyteller” for what you are featuring, make food and serve your guests. Your goal will be to build relationships and create your own “cheers” where customers are known by you and eventually also by each other.
We are in the hospitality industry and the great part of the business is you have the opportunity to create great experiences and make people happy, who wouldn’t want to be doing that every day!?
Ideal candidate:
The ideal franchise owner is someone who wants to work in the shop, learn about wine and educate your customers on this fantastic product, and build relationships within the community. Turquoise has become a quick success because of the people behind the bar – we are the neighborhood “cheers”, and this builds an unparalleled level of customer loyalty.
- Must have a great personality and love people and wine!
- Honest and Ethical
- 100% dedicated to the Turquoise brand and representing it well at all times
- Willingness to learn more about wine and complete WSET 2 classes online
- Servant leader – able to lead a small team of people in a positive way
- Open to working in small kitchen preparing food
- Willingness to work hard and be on your feet 8 hours a day. It is fun but it is hard work too!
- Able to follow liquor laws and always comply with all state laws
- Futuristic and want to see the business succeed – open to new ideas
- Business experience is a plus to run a profitable business
Turquoise Wine Bar Franchise model in the future:
We are offering the full package to ensure a successful business: Business model, site selection, shop buildout, brand and marketing creation, business and HR creation, creative and marketing toolkit, wine selection and wine database setup, food selection and food database setup, systems support, full customer-service model training, and more.
We would like to see our franchise model grow in Arizona in 2025, then expand into neighboring states and then to coastal regions. However, we understand the urgency for community-based franchises, so we are willing to consider any new territory as it makes sense to expand the Turquoise footprint.
For more information on the Turquoise Wine Bar, visit the corporate website: https://turquoisewinebar.com/
To follow Turquoise Wine Bar on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/turquoisewinecellar/
To learn more about franchising a Wine Bar, contact Franchise Marketing Systems: www.FMSFranchise.com