Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassie Lochte.
Cassie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My husband Ron and I own and manage GenuWine Tasting Room, a neighborhood wine bar located in the fast-growing community of Magnolia. We’re on the back side of The Woodlands and 15 minutes from Conroe.
In 2016, my husband Ron was semi-retired and was interested in buying an existing business when we came across GenuWine Tasting Room by accident. The wine bar had been started in 2010 by two local women as a retail wine specialty store that quickly evolved into a tasting room. Food and live music came shortly thereafter, creating a popular local place for a night out with friends. The location was also appealing because of its strategic location between The Woodlands, Conroe and Magnolia.
Both my husband and I have backgrounds in business and marketing – his with oil and gas and mine is in banking. I still work full time in sales/marketing as a vice president for a full-service, multi-state bank and Ron now manages GenuWine on a day-to-day basis.
Over the years, GenuWine has become the local favorite for great wine, food and wonderful local entertainment. We get a lot of couples who are out for their one night a week date-night. We also have built a very nice relationship with dozens of groups who use the facility for monthly meetings, lunch after tennis, training sessions, fund raising events and happy hour with staff.
This is our first experience running a full-time business and we still have a lot to learn. We are both surprised at how hard it is to run our own business – it’s a lot of work. I now have a totally different appreciation and respect for small business owners. We both have discovered we absolutely love owning our own space in the business world and it has been truly exciting to figure out what we want GenuWine to be when it grows up. It’s like discovering the personality of a child that you adore.
Has it been a smooth road?
Learning to run a small business is not for the weak of heart. For us, we didn’t have bar experience, and thinking back on this, we must have been nuts, and we probably were … and still are! We jumped in with both feet, we took every day as a learning experience, and we put our marketing brains to work every night. Our customers made it clear to us that they didn’t want a thing changed – they just wanted more of GenuWine. There was a good foundation with the existing business so we used our marketing expertise to give our customers what they wanted. Granted, the bar business is different from the businesses we’ve both worked in, but I knew people were people. Whether you are in banking or whether you are in the bar business, customers are always looking for a consistent experience with people they like and trust. A place like GenuWine is all about providing a great experience for the clientele. If we achieve that, then we will continue to be successful and keep customers returning again and again.
We have a ways to go and we are loving getting there.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with GenuWine Tasting Room – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
GenuWine Tasting Room is a lot like the place Cheers on TV – “everybody knows your name.” Our staff remembers you, remembers your taste in wine and helps you broaden your knowledge in wines to drink and take home. We typically carry over 200 varieties of wine from all over the world that you won’t find in typical retail shops or grocery stores. We hear statements like “Oh, Christopher knew exactly what we liked and he found for us a new Tannat from Uruguay that we are taking home. We didn’t even know it existed!” We also offer over 20 varieties of craft beer in bottles and tap. It’s a perfect add on for our clientele that love beer as well as wine.
We bring to our customers the personalization of listening to what you want, using our extensive knowledge of wines, letting you taste the wine, and buying it by the glass or by the bottle to take home. Every Tuesday, we bring two white and two red wines from our wine wall to be featured in our weekly wine tastings. These $15 a person mini-tastings are available every day we are open and is a great way for our customers to try several new wines very inexpensively. They often leave with a bottle of the wine that they tried!
GenuWine also has a wine club which many of our customers have joined. Each month, members receive two select wines plus additional discounts on the weekly wine tastings and bottle purchases. We also offer special events such as wine dinners and “meet the winemaker”. These are very popular and often sell out. Again, it’s a way for our clientele to broaden and experience the vast world of wines and wine making.
GenuWine…..the gem of Magnolia!
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
The Houston area is absolutely the best city to live and work in! The diversity of people, cultures, and events makes it a place where you can always find something to do. Ron and I both grew up in Texas and have lived in the Houston area for over 35 years. We love this city! The other thing that makes Houston so wonderful are the people. The way everyone came together to help each other after Harvey was truly amazing. I can’t begin to explain it to people who don’t live here.
Dislikes…the usual…traffic and those hot, humid summer days.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6503 FM 1488, Suite 401
Magnolia, Tx 77354 - Website: www.mygenuwine.com
- Phone: 832-934-CORK (2675)
- Email: mygenuwine@gmail.com
- Instagram: mygenuwine
- Facebook: GenuWine Tasting Room
- Twitter: @GenuWineTastingRoom
- Yelp: GenuWine Tasting Room
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
