Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Crushed Over Crush

Well, C-Ville Wine Blog lovers, our fears have been confirmed, the rumors were true, and CrushWine Shop is no more.  This from former owner Paul Coleman a few days ago:
As some of you may have heard, we are going through some changes at Crush.  After much deliberation over the past few months, Nan and I have decided to sell the wine shop to Michael Keaveny, who will be transforming it into an Italian trattoria/winebar.  It will still include a wine shop, carrying many of your favorite wines from around the world.  There will be a heavier influence of Italian varietals.  There will still be the same focus on great wine values on which Crush built its reputation.

Girlfriend and I stopped in last Friday and picked through the remains of last week's mega-sale. There wasn't much left. We grabbed a bottle of Virginia Chard and a Chenin Blanc that were a good deal after the discount. Girlfriend met the new owner, who told her his plans for a gallery-style kitchen area and the "rustic" Italian menu.

I can only hope he does it right. We will be sure to monitor progress and provide a review as soon as the new trattoria opens.

For Paul and his wife we wish you all the best. Running your own business is hard, not to mention running two. Thanks for making my beloved Belmont even better.

The Moral of the Story: pricing is everything. Crush Wine Shop had a fantastic selection, but everything was $5-$10 over-priced. I firmly believe they went after a per-bottle-profit margin and ended up sacrificing sales volume. I found myself limiting purchases, when, if the prices were better, I might have been spending more and shopping more often.

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