We are Ron and Michelle Miller, the proud owners of the Cork+Cracker. Many of our loyal Cork+Cracker customers have asked how we came to own the store, so we thought we would share our story…
Until about four years ago we both had wonderful jobs – careers we had carved out for ourselves and both loved. Michelle’s background is in accounting and human resources and she worked for a non-profit for 20 years. Ron worked in the printing industry as a Plant Manager for 30 years. Both of our companies were either assumed or acquired by other companies. Michelle’s position was transferred to Michigan and Ron’s job changed to the point that it was no longer the “wonderful job” he had enjoyed for 30 years.
Being less than satisfied with our “new careers” we started looking for businesses to start or
buy. We wrote a business plan for a new printing company but quickly realized that what we needed was a new career. We eliminated several possibilities: Ron’s idea of a new restaurant (“Everything is Better with Bacon”, or “EBBs” for short), and the purchase of a ”biker bar” – both quickly overruled. We asked ourselves what we enjoy doing and the answer was drinking and learning about wine!! Michelle, being a bookworm, purchased about ten books related to starting and running a wine store. We began our research and then she started writing a business plan. In the meantime, we were contacted by a business broker… the same one that wanted to sell us the biker bar. He asked if we would be interested in a wine store and we knew it was meant to be. We soon visited the store and loved it and the rest is history!
We have immersed ourselves into the day to day operations and have thoroughly enjoyed it. We know we still have much to learn and although we don’t claim to be experts, we do love wine and serving our customers. We hope that you will take a chance on us and continue to remain loyal customers that want the same thing we want…excellent wine for a great value.
It has been a pleasure meeting many of you and we look forward to continuing to serve you. Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions for the store – we would love to get your feedback.
We hope to see you soon!
Ron and Michelle Miller
