We were lucky to catch up with Mykel McIntosh recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mykel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

I’m excited about sharing my passion for food and wine with the St. Louis community and feel lucky to be a part of all of the exciting things happening in Midtown. Because of its close proximity to the new Centene Stadium, as well as the other new business coming into the area, I look forward to being a part of the action.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been in the industry since 2012 even with my degree in psychology I noticed I had a soft spot for the industry the hustle and bustle of it all connecting with new people forming relationships and giving customers an experience that they couldn’t recreate at home I formed a bond with food, and wine not just being in the industry but on my own dining and traveling different places. I have always had a deep connection for food, wine, and cocktails naturally I have always had a thirst for knowledge to learn more intrigued by the complexities of the dining experience – especially how wine ties in with food. I started learning more about wine, and I must say I did not understand wine like I thought. Wine is so intricate that I learn something new every day which makes it exciting, and I want to give my customers the same experience a way to taste, learn, and connect and with that Videira Wine Shop and Bar was born. With Videira Wine Shop & Bar, I’m excited to use what I’ve learned as a foundation for building something to reflect my own voice.

The atmosphere as “a modern speakeasy, but lusher,” the decor will consist of black and white photos of old Hollywood, exposed brick, camel-colored leather barstools and high ceilings. Behind the bar is a dispensing system for glass wines (to better control quality and freshness). Bottles of wine will also be available, as well as local beers and cocktails (made with fresh-squeezed juices and handmade syrups) named after movie stars, some of whom will be depicted in black-and-white photos on the walls—part of the “sexy, Modern Speakeasy theme. I started to notice a trend with cocktails in the industry where people were changing consumer habits from quantity to quality. Classic cocktails were coming back. People’s access to information increased as the internet supplied people a way to research products. I realized I could create a personal brand for myself by suggesting and learning about the products I was serving with fresh ingredients, great alcohol, and a modern take this is our cocktail program in a nutshell.

Following suit, the music will be low-fi, chill, which gives a relaxing effect and perfect tempo to keep listeners engaged without making them sleepy. As there are no lyrics, there are no distractions, which leads to better social environment

Wines that I will carry will be mostly New World wines produced outside the traditional winegrowing areas of Europe and the Middle East, from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States (primarily California). New World wines are usually fuller-bodied, higher in alcohol, have lower acidity, and are much riper on the palate. So, we want to also offer an array of Natural Wines meaning wine that is farmed organically (biodynamically, using permaculture or the like) and made (or transformed) without adding or removing anything in the cellar. We will also offer other wine options as well never leaving a customer disappointed.

As for food, we will be offering a limited menu of small plates current dishes in the works include za’atar seasoned pita with hummus, a burrata salad, flaming kasseri, smoked salmon, charcuterie and cheeses, and more.

I’m excited about sharing my passion for food and wine with the St. Louis community and feel fortunate to be a part of all of the exciting things happening in Midtown. Cheers!

Guests will enter Vidiera off Beaumont Street, where some sidewalk seating will be available.

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

Having experienced the emotional ups and downs of navigating career changes myself during the past decade of my life, I’m now focused on understanding what it takes to successfully reinvent yourself. I quit my job in 2021 it was the best decision I’ve made in a long time I learned a lot about myself. Sometimes, I hesitate to invest time into something unless I know for certain it will lead to something worthwhile. This gets quite circular because I often don’t know whether something is worthwhile until I actually try it. This time I took the leap of faith and started a wine bar not knowing the end result.

I’ve learned that making the effort to pursue more meaningful work, the kind of work that energizes, excites, and fulfills you, is one of the most rewarding endeavors you can pursue. Regardless of how challenging or elongated the change journeys have been stepping off the beaten path to do work that matters more to me has been absolutely worth it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I’ve dealt with my fair share of adversity and rejection in the industry. Knowing that most things in the industry are not personal is how I deal with adversity and overcome those challenges. I never let failure or rejection define who I am. That’s how I’ve built a thick skin and don’t let these issues bother me.

One way I’ve built a thicker skin over the course of my entrepreneurial journey is keeping my focus on being totally present in the work even when it’s challenging. Rather than worrying about not having a clear path to the end goal I’m working toward, I accept challenges, setbacks and uncertain outcomes as part of the entrepreneurial territory.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.videirawineshopandbar.com
• Instagram: videirawinebar
• Facebook: videirawineshopandbar
• Other: linktr.ee/videirawineshopandbar [email protected]

Image Credits
Mykel McIntosh, Maher Darwish, Owners of Videira Wine Shop & Bar, Anitas Cafe & Bar, Nexus STL, Kain Tayo, Ricks, and Tower Real Estate Group