We were lucky to catch up with Silvia Gallo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Silvia , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Killer Queen Wine Bar was a romantic idea… That entrepreneurial spark of an idea inspired by an experience… I want to open a wine bar thought came as I sat in a wine bar solo… I had never done this before.. sit at a bar solo… observing, listening to the bartender and the guests sitting at the bar. I was 38 years old experiencing a crossroads moment… we all do at some point … the universe pushing change for your souls higher purpose.
I was seeking a career change due to divorce… uprooted from my home… looking at new cities to reground… I owned my first business with husband… once I sold to him I was lost…
I found myself in a tiny beach town off season thinking wow… this wine bar feels like a hair salon but a lot less work! (So I Thought) I decided that night I want to own a wine bar.

After wandering the globe literally … looking at wine bars all over the world I found myself in Los Angeles talking to a bartender about a glass of wine … and thinking whoa! I need to work for this guy before I open my wine bar…
Matthew Kaner at that time one of the owners of Covell Wine Bar in Los Feliz took my on a detour from opening my own bar… I wanted to learn from him… and Covell was so incredible I thought I want to work here…

Welllll it took a minute to convince Mr Kaner to hire me and when he did he hired me for a new project in the Valley called Augustine Wine Bar …
I fell in love with AWB and the Sherman Oaks community. I worked at Augustine for 5 years and then the pandemic 2020 changed the globe.
I wandered all of 2020 camping around the country seeking fresh air and a new community to shift to… it seemed like the lock down of LA would never end and I needed to either learn to work from a computer or find a community that was opening and pray folks weren’t afraid to connect in neighborhood small bars, restaurants coffee shops… So there I went again another breakup.. from another partner, another home sold and another career change…

Killer Queens location was a building in Durham North Carolina that I had my eye on for years… I had often thought if I leave LA and my happy Augustine existence it’ll be to open my wine bar and this building would be perfect… It had been occupied by two different wine bars over the decade it was on my radar… as I rolled up on a February 2021 early eve to support the bar owner by purchasing a bottle to go I saw it was empty and it was for rent!

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?

My name is Silvia Gallo (unfortunately not related to Gallo Wine) I changed careers in my early 40s… from hairstylist salon owner to bartending in a wine bar… I met Matthew Kaner, Dustin Lancaster & Dave Gibbs in Los Angeles you could say when I was on a “Walk about” seeking to learn about wine and looking for ideas to inspire me to open my own bar… After meeting Matthew at Covell Wine Bar in Los Feliz I realized I wanted to be mentored… they hired me to work at their new project in the Valley Augustine Wine bar and then my internship began! I am a hands on learner… probably undiagnosed ADD… I am most joyful when present with guests… creating experiences for them…

I am proud of my ability to create that place/space where people connect… there needs to be a medium.. and Wine is the current medium I utilize to gather people…
Killer Queen wine bar is a neighborhood gathering space… that place where you pop in for bubbles to celebrate a magical moment… to be sad with support… to get to know a potential new sweetheart or shmooze a business colleague … or! to learn about wine.
I had no idea my ability to connect… find everyone I meet interesting and in need of heart to heart interactions would manifest into a wine bar that is known as a safe welcoming space for everyone in the community.
I am still in awe coming upon our second anniversary at the diversity of our crowd on any given night.

Killer Queen is a business that is really a badass soul looking to connect with like energy it just happens to be in the form of liquid love in a glass in a 10 foot wide 1920’s building.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I am so grateful that this book popped up in my life…Profit First for Restaurants written by Kasey Anton …

My path is one of romance… I had no idea that running a business was very different than being the lead singer of the bar… shifting from employee to owner is quite the journey for someone who was not educated in business.
I am so thankful that this book is a 101 in money management… creative entrepreneurs who are not numbers savvy or focused must read.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Killer Queen is 2 years old … since opening I have employed 2 Chefs, 3 Cooks and 2 kitchen consultants…

My guts says that KQ needs food for guests to pair with wine… to stick them to our chairs a bit longer… finding a kitchen person that understands how to create a menu for the business versus their ego… or that understands how to manage a kitchen … food costs, inventory…has been truly the most challenging component to business for me.

I feel so so grateful that just when I thought maybe I am wrong maybe my business needs to be just wine… a local couple that love the bar introduced themselves to me and said … We want to help you with your food program… a former chef now software guy said to me “Your menu doesn’t have an opinion and you seem like an opinionated lady.”
I think it was at that moment that I knew the universe heard me and I was ready!
He has swooped into our world egoless, knowledgeable and truly focused on making sure a local business he loves has support to keep on going…
We will launch our November 2020 local small plate menu. He literally refuses compensation … I force wine bottles on him:) sidenote again universal timing one of our bartenders has a passion for food… has food and beverage formal training and will take over kitchen management!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.killerqueendurham.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/killerqueendurham/

Image Credits
“Eric Waters / Discover Durham” William Reed Photography https://williamtreed.com/