Merlot Contemplates a New Direction, Up the Coast

Greetings and good evening Voignier, and our kind readers.

It's is with a the "high hopes" of a certain ant, and perhaps the expectations of a novice skier attempting his first run down a black diamond trail, on an icy mount, that Merlot is contemplating a fresh start in a new direction on another business venture. To that end, we are looking into the purchase and management of our own Wine store, wherein boxed wine will be featured prominently to the public. With the news that Wine is now America's first choice beverage by the Gallop Polling organization last week, we have reason to think that retail wine sales could turn out to be a growth business opportunity for the next 10 years, with margins for boxed wine outpacing the countless bottled blends that currently dominate the shelves. With this in mind, we have taken several other factors into the sort of accounting one does at the start of any new business venture.

• First, we believe that Merlot is a man of the people, or a "people person," if you will. Merlot is not adverse to dealing with the right sort of individual that would certainly be attracted to our wine store. And so, Merlot is clearly cut out, if you will, for dealing with the public.
  
• Secondly, Merlot is also cut out, if you will, to deal with the caliber of employee who would find themselves stocking shelves, counting change and processing credit card payments for the legions of boxed wine consumers who would frequent Merlot's outstanding new business enterprise.
• Thirdly, Merlot knows boxed wines. As a leading expert in the field, and a founding member of the Boxed Wine Association of North America and Parts of Chile, Merlot is an ideal wine seller of boxed wines. Moreover, we look forward to teaching our customers the finer points about the production, packaging and most favorable conditions for the consumption of boxed wines, as Voignier will, I believe, testify.
• Fourth, Merlot will enjoy getting out of the house boat, now and again, if you will. While life on our magestic ship on the Hudson at the 79th Street boat basin makes us the object of envy of many, taking part in the comings and goings of those engadge in enterprise each day should do Merlot some good. Particularly to a business to which we are most certainly drawn, like a moth to a flame.
• Fifth, a Wine store would serve as an ideal location for our frequent boxed wine tastings, and perhaps making them even more frequent. While Conneticut is not the Napa valley, the expectation is that bi-weekly boxed wine tastings, with classical guitar playing in the background in a store we've designed and maintain on the golden shoreline should go over like a helium bowling ball, if you will, ever upward toward the sun, with the hope that is fly unlike Icarus, ascending on beautiful, foolish, arms if you will.
  

And so, once we begin our adventure in wine selling, we anticiapte ourselves hob nobbing with some of the world's most prominent, if not the most wise bon vivants who call that majestic coastline, with it's world class harbors, such as Bridgeport, and New York's Port Chester to the south, home. In fact, let us extend our invitations now to local residents such as William F. Buckley, to whom we anticiapte seeing often, and to wit, we shall be delighted to explain the finer points of our boxed selections.

We have found to such stores on these shores, that are certainly suitable (the listings for which you'll find below), leaving nothing but the required funding for us to start our new adventure in boxed wine selling, marketing and promoting, as we enlighten the American public about the superiority of boxed wine to other favored liquors. Other prominent tasteful local residents to whom we look forward to selling our selections include Kelsey Grammer, James Earl Jones, Anthony Hopkins, and Dick Cavett. Moreover, we look forward to regularly toasting the memory of Orson Wells, as we discuss the current events, political economies, economics, business conditions, golfing, tennis and of course, women.

We look forward to a time when we sit on the National Chamber of Commerce, devising ways to keep wages low, health benefits limited, taxes from rising and above all, boxed wine affordable, even after its price raises far above its current levels, as Merlot and Voignier's writings enlighten the average American consumers to the vast superiority of boxed wine to corked varieties. We look forward to sitting with other captains of future industry, and devising ways to keep this great land great and free. Where it our place to chart the progress of boxed blends, as it overtakes bottle wine's market share, we would work hard each day, with industry leaders to make and keep boxed wine fat free, sugar free, tax free and free on nights and weekends, where possible. Sadily, it is not our place to effect change in such a manner, and we must start at the bottom of our chosen advocation, with our humble, if extraordinarily tasteful wine store, where we shall entertain good and fair commerce with some of the worlds more prominent trend setters.

To our way of thinking, choosing the right location, is 90 percent of the challenge in entering and competing well in the market for wine sales on this majestic coast. And so, these two listings below are, we believe in the right pew, where the nation's cultural fountainheads will enjoy easy access to the boxed wine selections that shall be featured most promently on our shelves, which shall be constructed of the finest Brazilian hard woods, and laid out to offer consumers the very easiest approach and exit from our new establishment.

Surley, at this point, Merlot is taking the liberties of Don Quiote, as he waxes on the commerical potential of his new boxed venture, if you will. Nevertheless, without dreams, where is one, and more to the point, where does one go, and where does one wind up? To paraphrase Chuang Tzu, who is widely regarded as one the "greatest" Taoist philosohers, in his "Butterfly's Dream", which was "revealed", if you will, thousands of year ago: who can say what is a dream, when at any moment, one could wake up to find themselves a butterfly, having dreamt this life, with all its history and anticipations, rather than a man, having dreamt himself a butterfly, moving weightlessly for minutes, hours, days and weeks?

To that end, Merlot has reached out and searched the web, if you will, and found the following to retail wine seller businesses for sale, which I believe are suitable to being this wonderful adventure and enterprise. We welcome donations from our reading public to make the purchase and begin our new career as a one of the world's leading retail wine sellers, in perhaps the greatest location on the face of the earth for such an enterprise. Feel free to contact us for Paypal.com instructions, if you will, to contribute toward our down payment on this magnificent journey into boxed wine commerce.

Ideal Wine and Liquors - Safe, Sophisticated and Growing
Fairfield County, Connecticut

Ad ID: 188275
Type: Established business
Category: Retail - Liquor Stores
Category: Retail - Miscellaneous Retail

Financials
Asking: $185,000

Gross: $485,000
Cash Flow: $80,000

Summary Description
Ideal wine store in safe, pleasant and growing community in northern Fairfield County. While the store sells it share of liquor and beer, its future lies its increasing sales and reputation in wines. Located on a main intersection between the local bank and the town's only video store in a small, well kept, brick shopping center. Unlimited parking. 1300 SF sophisticated store with wooden wine racks, large walk-in cooler, four independent coolers, tasteful decorations, rear delivery into 10X15 storage area. Large manager's office; two lavatories. All accessories and equipment - turnkey. This is an ideal store for the owner/manager wanting pleasant, high-end clientel and large profits in hand-selling a variety of good, medium-priced wines. Rural atmosphere but close to high density population and interstates. The store has prospered for 20 years with existing competition which will not change (the town has issued all of its state-allowed permits) maximizing the security of the buyer's investment.

Contact Information
John Payne
Century Business Sales

$1M Fairfield County Liquor Store - Old, New and Growing Fast
Fairfield County, Connecticut

Ad ID: 187167
Type: Established business
Category: Retail - Liquor Stores
Category: Retail - Miscellaneous Retail

Financials
Asking: $525,000

Gross: $1,200,000
Cash Flow: $243,680

Summary Description
Best liquor store investment of the year. Brand new 4,000 SFstore in modern, stand-alone building on corner plot with large parking lot immediately next to the store's orginal, 40-year location. Original store called one of "hottest" is Northeast by suppliers. Now new store is one of best in the Northeast: large, open, light, clean; 17-door 32X12 walk-in cooler; 5-door wine cooler; 18X13 front counter sales area; 37X27 wine display; 10X35 liquor display; 9X12 manager's office with double glass doors to sales area; 2 locked storage areas on main floor 13X8 and 11X8; 900 SF locked, dry,clean basement storage; front parking area for 20 cars with mature trees, shrubs, etc for upscale appearance. On major thoroughfare 3 blocks from major entrance/exit on I-95. Surrounding neighborhood is "happening", undergoing major renovation. 1/4 mile from Long Island Sound. Seller is also landlord. Favorable, long-term lease available. Smart money will recognize the size of both the immediate and long-term opportunity and will act quickly. NOTE: Income financials are based on old, 1,000 SF store. Expense financials including rent are based on new store which will grow sales & income substantially.

Contact Information
John Payne
Century Business Sales