WINE BAR I FEATURE
Career twist becomes opportunity for enterprising couple.
IT STARTED OFF as just pillow talk.
Two years ago, newly married couple Nicole Schickler and John Hall were entrenched in the business of blending their families and juggling demanding careers – she as a travel insurance executive, he as a nurse who worked with Alzheimer patients and developmentally challenged youth.
But with everyone tucked in at night and the craziness of the day behind them, the Kitchener couple would dream.
“We’d sit and chat about how great it would be to have a wine bar,” recalls Schickler, who travelled to dozens of countries for work and had gotten to be what she describes as a “professional diner.”
“I really learned what I liked or didn’t like, and got to thinking there was nothing >>
>> around here other than a big steakhouse where you can go, linger, try different wines and some interesting food.”
The daydreaming was detailed, says Schickler. Concepts, menus, décor – they thought of all of it. Wouldn’t it be fun, they mused. Three months later, Schickler lost her job. “Was it difficult?” she recalls now. “Absolutely. It felt like my identity.”
Unsure what would come next, the couple decided to look at real estate investment. Not long after they started poking around, they came across a 158-year-old brick building along the banks of the Grand River in the Blair section of Cambridge. Most recently, the main floor had housed the Blair Gift House; upstairs was home to an insurance broker. In the past, it had been Johannes General Merchant, a store run by three generations of the same family.
“We just fell upon it one day,” Schickler says. “I remember after we went through it, we were sitting out in the parking lot and we looked at each other and thought: Oh my gosh, this would make a perfect wine bar.”
That was late 2012. Hall and Schickler immediately put in an offer. The deal closed in January 2013, and they hit the ground running.
The whole structure had to be redone – new electrical, plumbing, furnace, septic tank and floors. And though they hired a general contractor, much of the work was done by Hall, Schickler and their friends and family.
“We literally have a lot of blood, sweat and tears in here,” Schickler says,
The Easy Pour Wine Bar opened in November. It’s a cosy, charming space that is at once rustic and contemporary. A huge, poured-concrete bar embedded with tiny, colour-changing fibre optic lights dominates the main floor. Above, the ceilings are beamed and soaring. On both floors are tables Hall made by repurposing some of the building’s old barn board.
Easy Pour seats about 60, and there are several rooms in which to make merry. Up the endearingly crooked stairs, the Grey Room seats about eight, perfect for group bookings or small, private events; the Gold Lounge features a handful of comfy armchairs.
At night, the space is filled with candlelight, the sounds of jazz and blues (sometimes live musicians) and, at least on weekends, a packed house of imbibers sipping from one of the bar’s 65 (and growing) international wines, curated by sommelier Robert Lawrie, formerly of the Charcoal Steak House. Originally, the menu was meant to be simple, especially given the limitations of the tiny kitchen. “Our intent was to do fresh breads, cheeses and charcuterie and leave it at that,” says Schickler. Then they met chef Tekin Guroluk. “When we met, Tekin was teaching at Conestoga College, and he admitted he didn’t know what we were looking for but was curious,” Hall remembers. “We had a great conversation and it just clicked for us. His passion was amazing. He’s modest. There’s no ego there.”
Hall and Schickler have given Guroluk the freedom of creativity and the result is a menu that focuses on the fresh and the local, as well as on smaller, shared dishes like cheese boards and flatbreads, and heartier fare like braised short ribs, fish specials and prime rib on Sunday evenings.
In essence, the menu is meant to complement the wine experience. Hall and Schickler hope people will find the bar a laid-back place where they can sample and experiment. Hence the name: Easy Pour.
“We didn’t want it to be a pretentious place or a special-occasion destination,” Schickler says. “We want people to feel comfortable and at home. It’s all about trying and tasting. We thought: wine isn’t complicated, it’s actually a very easy pour. And so that was the perfect name.”
The pouring may be easy, but the journey hasn’t been without its kinks. When they dove in, neither Hall nor Schickler knew a thing about entrepreneurship in general or the restaurant business in particular.
“We had a lot of folks thinking we were crazy,” Schickler says. “But people also >>
>> told us that the fact that we didn’t have experience in the industry was probably a good thing because it meant just following our instincts and our passions. We didn’t have rose-coloured glasses.”
At the same time, says Hall, they approached the endeavour without the cynicism of those who have been around the block a few times.
“We’d heard a lot of bad stories about red tape,” he says, referring to the many hoops restaurateurs jump through when it comes to permits, engineering fees, health inspections and the like. “But we didn’t find that. You keep moving forward and you keep the communication open. It was actually a really pleasant experience.”
At times, though, as with any big personal undertaking, they admit the project seemed dauntingly insurmountable. Keeping them going was what Hall and Schickler say were signs – some almost eerie – reminding them that this was their kismet.
“One story really stands out,” Hall says. “We were at a particular stage with our renovations, and we took a break and were having a drink in the garage. My sister was here and as we were chatting, I said, ‘Now we really need some wine racks for the basement.’ ”
About five minutes later, a taxi dropped a man off at the house – the wrong house, at that. But the friendly stranger got chatting with Hall and his sister and joined them for a beer.
“It turns out this guy makes wine racks,” Hall says, laughing and shaking his head. “We all just couldn’t believe it. You should have heard us.”
There are more examples. Schickler’s mother’s maiden name was the same as the insurance broker that had once been upstairs. And when they came across an article on the old Johannes General Merchant online, they found they shared some core values with the store’s original owner.
“It talked about the woman who ran the store and how it became a social gathering spot for the community,” Schickler says. “People would socialize on the veranda. Her philosophy was always about service and not profit. Tears came to our eyes when we read that because that has been our philosophy from the beginning.”
Balancing work and family has been another hurdle. Hall’s son is seven, and
Schickler has two daughters, 12 and 14. The goal is always to have one parent at home while the other staffs the restaurant. “My oldest spent some time here learning the ropes and how to serve and work in the kitchen,” says Schickler. “She got tips – she loved it, and she got a whole new appreciation for what we do here. It’s hard for them as we’re here so much, but they get it and they’re patient.” Looking back, the couple admit it’s been a heck of a ride.
“I can’t believe everything we did in one year,” says Schickler, laughing. “Got married, lost my job and started a new business. So many times, we thought: Are we crazy? Then something would happen and we’d think we were doing the right thing.” “People ask us now if we’d do it all over again,” adds Hall. “I think if we’d thought about it a lot, we would have been too scared. But it was just meant to be.”