Meet Paul Killingsworth of Vino & Vinyl

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Killingsworth.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Paul. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I guess my stomping grounds as a kid, gave me training for our growing business. I grew up in musical home where my mother was a professional harpist. If that’s not enough to convince someone that I lived and breathed music, I don’t know what would. There were piano lessons at age 5, and by the time I was 16, I had on a full scholarship for classical piano at one of Missouri’s state universities. Somewhere along the way I picked up the bass, and after a few years of playing shows and symphony concerts, I started playing standard Jazz with multiple bands. I loved the creativity of Jazz. But even as a kid, no matter the genre, I couldn’t get enough… hours and hours of listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, all the way to Christian rock, encompassing all the music my parents would allow for listening.

Although I was born in Houston, I grew up in Springfield, Missouri. Ironically, following my university studies in Springfield, I moved to play with a band out of Houston, of which my younger brother was the drummer. Then I met Nichole, my wife, and everything changed. Needless to say, I stayed in Houston and started working in restaurants again like I did in my college days.

The craziest part of the whole story is that my wife is the reason I caught the wine bug, being the beer drinker I was. One night we were out to dinner and she begged me to share some wine with her. There must have been something different about that night, but I’ll never forget tasting a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand for the first time. I was floored. I thought, “Wine can taste like this?!” And that’s where it started. It was my “ah-ha!” moment with wine.

I was determined to understand how a certain grape variety could taste one way “here” and then taste completely different “there”. I couldn’t stop searching. I was on a quest. I bought and read the entire Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil, and by the end had passed my level 1 with the Court of Master Sommeliers. I kept going. I joined tasting groups, read more books, and basically studied as much as I could. After another two years, I passed level 2. From that point on, it was selling wine in a dining room with Perry’s Steakhouse’s to helping open up a new location with The Tasting Room wine bar, and then on to selling fine wine with Pioneer Wine Co., a locally-owned wholesaler.

Somewhere along the way all the wine lights came on. Wine somehow transitioned from head knowledge to my heart. My philosophy changed. Wine became to me all about appreciation – about discovery. It was (and is) something to be shared with friends and loved ones. Fellowship across a dinner table. Love. Passion for life. The stuff that’s in a bottle no matter the price point, is produce at its simplest form. The real celebrities are the farmers, and the best wines are not all the brands seen on every grocery store shelf. There are places around the world where families are making really cool stuff, and I want to find them. I want to share them with my friends.

In this quest, Vino & Vinyl has been moving from something that has always been a dream in my heart, to actually taking form. At its core Vino & Vinyl mission is to help people find wines and music they really love, and hopefully learn and evolve along the way. Sure, we’re a bit rebellious and non-conformist when it comes to not supporting big brands, but it’s all driven by the desire to discover and support the underdog. Just as radio stations play the same twenty songs a day, grocery stores mainly support the large production wineries. We wanted to carve out a different space to play in.

Vino & Vinyl is an intersection of my two passions, and while it is still evolving, has been received with open arms.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I suppose every day as an entrepreneur you face challenges. Its how you handle them – what you do – that makes a difference. If I had to say one thing that we faced with trying to start up, it was cash. We had tried to raise some capital from a few people in our network, but because the concept wasn’t as solid as it is today, we got turned down from everyone. Talk about a blessing in disguise… we were forced to make it happen for ourselves. We found a way to do it with a small loan from the bank, credit cards, and lots and lots of labor hours from friends and family. We had plenty of painting parties paired with cheap beer and pizza. Haha! Now, we (my wife and I) are the sole owners of the business. The sacrifices from the beginning have proven to be the best investments we have ever made.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Vino & Vinyl – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Vino & Vinyl is a wine bar that meets a small record store. We play everything on vinyl (as if to sample out what we are selling), and specialize in small family producers from the west coast USA, and a few offerings from around the world. We have a cool, bottle-only beer list (for a wine bar), and in our Sugar Land location, have a culinary team that is creating some incredible food. We also feature local painting artist on our walls.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Since we just opened our Sugar Land location, expansion plans are staying under wraps while we get our concept solidified. We know that this brand can (and will be) successful in other parts of our city, state, and hopefully in the near future, around the country. We’re already working in that direction…

Pricing:

• Our by-the-glass program is for everyone. Our glass prices range from $5 a glass, to $50.

Contact Info:

• Address: Sugar Land
  15977 City Walk
  Sugar Land, TX
  77479Missouri City
  3340 FM 1092 RD, STE 150
  Missouri City, TX
  77459
• Website: www.vino-vinyl.com
• Email: info@vino-vinyl.com

Image Credit:
Chris Killingsworth Photography
http://chriskillingsworthphotography.com

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.