The Ridgewood Wine & Beer Co. doesn't open until Monday in the Ridgewood Shopping Center, but it's holding a preview with a beer tasting tonight and a wine tasting Saturday for those who want an early look.
The shop is in the space that had, until the end of December, been occupied for 30 years by The Wine Merchant. And the new store's owners, Ryan Elliott, Jason Kaczor and Patrick King, all worked in the former shop.
Their association with The Wine Merchant and the sudden manner in which it closed have resulted in accusations and hurt feelings, and customers who may feel caught in the middle will need a glass of a good pinot to make sense of it all.
This much is not in dispute:
Bud Saylor owned The Wine Merchant in Ridgewood Shopping Center for 30 years. In December, he posted a notice on the shop saying it was closing because the store's lease had not been renewed. Inventory was moved to The Wine Merchant's Cary location, which is managed by Kurt Saylor, Bud's son.
Elliott, Kaczor and King, who were managers at the Raleigh store, filed papers with the Secretary of State's office Oct. 6 to form a limited liability company called Ridgewood Wine & Beer.
After that there's disagreement.
Bud Saylor, in an interview from his home in Asheville last month, said he received a letter from his landlord, Andrew Techet, on Oct. 15, informing him that the lease was not being renewed. Saylor acknowledged that sales had slowed during the downturn but said he had asked Techet in a meeting in August whether the store was in trouble. He said Techet told him, "When you get in trouble, I'll let you know."
The trouble, Saylor said, was that because sales were down, the amount the store paid the landlord in overages also was down. In most shopping centers, stores pay a monthly rent and a percentage of any sales over an agreed-upon amount (the overage).
Techet, in a phone interview, would not talk specifically about what happened with The Wine Merchant, saying only, "The decision was one we took very seriously. We felt it was in the best interest of the shopping center."
The Saylors have since posted online a longer explanation of what happened with references to what their former employees knew and when.
Elliott said that he understood how the situation looked but that there were inaccuracies in the Saylors' posting and timeline. He refused to elaborate.
"The opening of our store and their closing, one had nothing to do with the other," Elliott said. "There was deterioration between the owner of the property and the owner of the store. ... We worked loyally for Bud. We cared about the place, and we ran it how Bud wanted us to run it."
Elliott said the three had once talked to Saylor about buying the store and that they dreamed of owning a shop one day. When it became apparent that sales were declining and that the lease was not going to be renewed, he said, the three started thinking about their own futures.
"This has been the toughest two months of my life," Elliott said. "My own mother called me up because of what she'd read online."
Dollar Tree has signed a lease to occupy half of the space formerly occupied by Borders Books at Creekside Crossing Shopping Center at Six Forks and Wake Forest roads. The 13,000-square-foot store is expected to open in late May or early June.
Jolly's Jewelers, which announced in December that it was going to close after 130 years in business, has finally said set an official last day: Feb. 18. That means one more chance to buy a Valentine's Day gift from the North Hills jeweler - and at a substantial discount.
Brian and Beth Sloss have opened Menchie's, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop, at Waverly Place in Cary. It's the third Menchie's in the state. There will be free yogurt from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday as part of its grand opening, as well as free T-shirts for the first 50 children and gift bags for the first 50 customers in line.
Sona MedSpa of Raleigh has moved to 5511 Capital Center Drive, Suite 102, Raleigh. There will be an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 15. ... The TGI Fridays at the Beaver Creek Commons Shopping Center in Apex has closed. ... The Leith Nissan dealership near N.C. 55 in Apex has moved to 2000 Auto park Blvd. in Cary.
