We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Rieve a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

One of the most important elements to success if believing in yourself. When we started working on opening GenuWine Arizona, we manifested our success. We always believed that we would open up a self-serve wine bar and we took one step at a time to get there. There was never a backup plan or a thought that it might not happen. We always believe in ourselves and each other during the process. We also had the support of our husbands who also believed in us.

Another thing that helped us to be successful is to be able to problem solve through obsticles. When we first started this journey, we had to figure everything out ourselves. It was overwhelming at times, but we just kept going. When we came to a hurdle, we figured out a solution and kept going. During covid when we had to shut down, we learned how to pivot and just keep going.

Emily, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We are two former teachers (Emily and Lindsey) who followed our dream to open GenuWine Arizona, a self-serve wine bar in Phoenix, Arizona.  We are very proud to be a women owned business who made it through so many hurdles!  With no business experience, we problem solved and hustled our way to get this dream off the ground!

We taught 7th grade math and science together for a combined 15 years.  We loved working together and knew we wanted to do something new where we could be creative.  My husband and I took a trip to France and saw a similar self-serve wine system in 2016.  I thought it was the best way to taste wine and knew right then I wanted to open a self-serve wine bar.  I even messaged Lindsey from France!

We started our journey by Googling “How to write a business plan”.  From there we wrote our own 30 page business plan, got an SBA loan, purchased a liquor license, found a location, and went through construction and permiting.  We were so determined and never once thought it wouldn’t happen.  We manifested this into reality and took one hurdle at a time.

During construction I found out I was pregnant with my daughter.  When we opened our doors in January 2018 I was 5 months pregnant.  It was a crazy time but we made it work!  We now have 3 kids between the two of us and are full time moms along with full time business owners.

We not only made it through opening a small business, but also a global pandemic!  That was sheer hustle and being able to pivot to adjust to regulations and restrictions.  I think we came out stronger on the other side having to go through that.

We opened GenuWine Arizona with a goal to make a welcoming environment for our community.  A place where people walk in and feel like family.  We have 24 bottles in our self-serve wine machines and each can dispense a 1oz, 3oz, and 5oz pour.  We like to focus on local wines so people can taste and support local Arizona wine growers.  We also have beer, charcuterie boards, and other local products.  We have lots of events including live music, trivia, euchre night, and a book club! We even have a Wine Club.

We have an amazing team of women who work part time at GeuWine and really put their hearts into making the bar what it is.  We have loved being mentors and inspiring people to follow their dreams.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Covid was a crazy time for all small businesses, and we were no exception. Having to shut down our on-premise dining area was a big change. We quickly pivoted to retail only. We set up our bar with all of the wine bottles displayed on the tables. We got creative and made retail bundles and baskets. We created virtual wine tastings for our customers and even had “patio sales” where we sat on the patio and sold wine/beer to people walking by. We really had to hustle through this time.

Throughout it all we definitely grew stronger. The community was a big support and now we feel like our retail bottleshop is a bigger presence because of it. Every struggle we’ve had to go through, we pivoted and made changes to adapt.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Lindsey and I taught 7th grade math and science together in Gilbert, AZ. After working together for a few years, we created a Math/Science co-taught gifted curriculum. What we learned from working so closely together is that when we come together we can create magic. We knew we wanted to create something from the ground up and worked very hard to make GenuWine a reality.

A lot of people ask how it is to own a business with a friend, and for anyone else it honestly might not work. Lindsey and I think of ourselves as business solemates. We’re always on the same page and love owning a business together. We always put our friendship first which is really important to us.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.genuwinearizona.com
• Instagram: @genuwine_arizona
• Facebook: GenuWine Arizona
• Twitter: GenuWine Arizona

Image Credits
Kristen at WYLDFLWR CREATIVE CO.