Just when you think everything’s under control, BAM, life brings you another surprise to make your job more interesting. Matthew, the general manager of Chocolate Box and who was going to be our creative director for 106 Pine, has decided to move on. So now we have no choice but to sit back, take a deep breath - and move forward. As the days pass, I’m realizing it’s not really a problem for the future of the wine shop since the work is now in the more-than-able hands of Shannon and the team she had already started to put together. She says she feels lucky to have found three amazing new hires – Heather Mercier has been working in Seattle restaurants, such as Cafe Presse and Le Pichet for years and knows her wine; Another person, (who hasn’t given her notice yet!) is a Shakespearean actor and has worked wine bars – she will be leading some of the tours, both the Tour de Chocolat and the Urban Wine Tour. And Julia Wayne writes a column for Edible Seattle magazine about cheese; she will be our pairing guru. These ladies have a unique combination of talents that we hope will make 106 a great place to come to learn about and taste local wines, cheeses, etc., and have a great time. More on that later.
But Matthew’s departure was a short-term pain in the ass for Chocolate Box because we didn’t have someone to step into his role there. So I started talking with strangers about coming to work for me in a very critical position. Not my favorite thing to do. But within a week we found J.D., a young, energetic woman who’s calmness under stress is immediately apparent. She is the scoring star on a local women’s soccer team and has carried many of her teams to victory – so much so that her latest team will be competing in the Gay Games next year! We’re lucky to have her come on board. We’re moving full-speed ahead!
Tags: wine
