Winery to open in Bricktown
Winery set for Bricktown
Journal Record
October 15, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY – A hobby for one Oklahoma couple has turned into a new business, and something for them to work on as they eye retirement.
John Burwell and Andrea Griggs decided to take their home winemaking project and set up shop in Bricktown in a space looking out onto the canal. “For the last five or six years we’ve been talking about setting ourselves up in a business for retirement,” Burwell said. “Although we’re not really ready to retire yet, we’re going to go ahead and do this because we thought the time was right.”
By day Burwell is state forester with the Oklahoma Forestry Services and Griggs is in the construction business. “I’ve been bugging him for two years to do this,” Griggs said. “Finally he gave in and said ‘come up with a business plan.’
”The couple have signed a lease on about 1,300 square feet in the Miller Jackson building, at 115 E. California St., to make and sell wine. Put a Cork in It will open in February.
Packages will be available to let people come into the space, make and bottle their own wine, and slap on a custom label. Burwell and Griggs will bring in grape juice from vineyards around the country that will be fermented on site to make the wines in a process that takes about four to eight weeks.
“We’re not going to be making wines comparable to the great wines of France,” Burwell said. “We’re just going to be making fun wines.” The couple is still figuring out pricing, but said the wines will sell for about $10 a bottle.
Jeff Brown, the fourth-generation owner of the Miller Jackson building, said one of his tenants, Chad Huntington, with Red Dirt Emporium and Water Taxi, originally suggested a shop showcasing Oklahoma wines for the ground-floor space next to his shop.
That space was last occupied by a coffee shop about two years ago. Brown said that was already in the back of his mind when he met Burwell and Griggs. “They mentioned something about wine and I said ‘I can’t believe this,’” Brown said.
The building has a mix of office and retail tenants, and recently signed a lease with the Coyote Ugly Saloon in addition to Hooters and the Rok Bar.
“This adds to the retail population in Bricktown and some degree of diversification in retail,” Brown said. The addition of new, unique, and diverse retail in the district fits into Bricktown Executive Director Jim Cowan’s vision for the district.
“People are thinking about niches,” Cowan said. “It’s exciting when you have something move in that’s not a restaurant or bar.” Griggs plans to run the winery with help from her husband when he is not at his job with the state. “This is my job,” she said with a laugh. “This is my winery and he’s going to work for me.”
Additional plans will include wine tasting events and Griggs hopes groups will rent the space for wine parties. One of the last hurdles will be finalizing the appropriate state and federal paperwork to make and sell wine at the shop, which Burwell said they hope to have completed soon.
The project is in many ways what the couple envisioned, with a few minor changes. Both are from southeastern Oklahoma and had a little different idea how their winery would shape up. “We always thought we’d sit on the front porch down in a rural area overlooking our winery,” Burwell said. “Instead we’ll sit on the porch overlooking the Bricktown Canal.”
Andrea Griggs and John Burwell sit in the store space where they will open up their winery Put a Cork in It at the Miller Jackson building in Bricktown. (Photo by Maike Sabolich)
Personal Comment:
Honestly, I think they have a pretty good concept that could be ripe to set up franchise locations all over U.S. This specifically reminds me of the Pass Your Plate and other prepare your meals services. I think the public and tourists will really dig this.
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Originally Posted by CuatrodeMayo
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