Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheyne Howell.
Hi Cheyne, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My whole family has worked at one point or another at Deluxe Foods grocery store in the Deer Park Shopping Center in Rio Del Mar. My parents met there in the 70s. I worked in the deli. My sister did accounting for them. One day in 2004 my mom saw Deer Park Wine & Spirits for sale. It was in ‘court appointed receivership’ because the previous owners had run it down. She thought, “oh, I’ve always thought that would be a good business.” I was 18 and away at school.
My parents have owned their own small business as long as I can remember, going back to ‘Woodstalk Paintball’ up Eureka Canyon Road in Corralitos. I would go up there on the weekends and referee the games and help set up and break down at home. My mom is an accountant, and my dad is a boot strapper. The paintabll business was winding down for my family when my Mom and Dad purchased Deer Park Wine & Spirits. I would clerk there on my breaks from college.
I moved back to the Aptos area when I was 21 and worked at Sanderlings in the Seascape Resort as a Barback and eventually Bartender. When my parents split up shortly after, my mom kept the business and said, “either you come back and learn it or I’m going to sell it.” So I came back.
We focused on listening and communicating with the customer. We wanted to be more than just ‘a liquor store.’ We took special orders, actually calling people back. We started weekly in store tastings. We started wine and whiskey clubs. One day early on I decided I needed to be the one to curate the spirits in the shop. I picked up an issue of Whisky Advocate and started reading the ratings while I tasted the products, eventually sharing my learnings with customers.
18 years later, we have another little neighborhood store in Seascape nearby, we have a longstanding staff that each takes their passion for a specific category and shares it with customers via tastings and newsletters and shelf talkers.
Alcohol is trending down right now, but we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing. Sharing what we learn and telling our customers about what’s good! N/A Beer included.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s been mostly smooth, my parents instilled a lot of knowledge and systems and positivity. The 2008 crash was hard for the business, and not timed well with their divorce. Cash flow got very tight and I learned a lot about planning and forecasting.
Probably the cash flow for a small business is the biggest constant struggle. Equipment breaking. Seasonal fluxes (January-March can be a graveyard).
Otherwise the mistakes I made and learned from were never detrimental. More experimental. Off-premise beverage alcohol is a pretty steady business so I had a good foundation to experiment with different ideas to find what was working.
Refrigeration and rising utility costs are probably the bane of my existence right now. So expensive to keep things cold!
Any personal struggles were always supported by the staff. When my daughter’s were born, I could always count on someone covering the shop when I was home with a sick kid.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’d say we’re most known for our weekly Friday tastings, diverse global wine set and for introducing our customers to new products. When you come into the shop, there’s always someone who greets you and can help you find what you’re looking for.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
I am lucky to have parents who knew the value in owning and operating your own small business. I took over a healthy business and grew it.
– Learn financial literacy and responsibility, preferably from a young age. Save 10% of every paycheck. This should be a high school course for a semester.
– Get a job. Any job. Live cheaply. Then find another job that’s more exciting. If you have a passion, get an entry level job at the firm. Find out how everything works. Ask questions. Ask what you can do to be more valuable. Get at least a 2yr accounting or business degree from a Community College. Then go start your own business.
I wish I had learned earlier about marketing and personnel management. Those and other business subjects didn’t come as naturally as ‘front of house’ skills did.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.deerparkwines.com
- Instagram: @deerparkwine
