Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenn Lang.
Hi Jenn, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I am a nurse and a mom of 3 boys, so a lot of my life involved wine and coffee! One day I told my husband if I could spend all of my days doing that for work, it would be amazing. We thought it was just a pipedream, but I slowly took some business classes; I took the WSET 2 for wine, listened to podcasts, researched, and tasted a lot of wine to grow my knowledge. Then during Covid, my husband was let go from his job, and we took some time to talk about it a little more seriously, and the dream continued to grow along with the vision of what we wanted it to be. My husband went back to work and it gave me the freedom to work less at the hospital. When we looked at the spot we are currently in it just felt right for our vision. We did a lot of renovation work to make it the perfect spot for us. We work tirelessly to make a warm friendly environment and constantly come up with new ideas and events to bring in new customers and make a place for all of our returning customers to enjoy and create memories. Many of our customers have become like friends and family to us.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We have had some struggles along the way. We have had some trouble finding employees, but the employees we do have are great and really care about the success of our business. We also have had lots of trouble with inventory and supplies being out of stock. When we first opened, we could only get in one size of plastic iced coffee cups. It took 3 months after we opened before we were able to get a second size. We frequently have to make adjustments based on items that we have been using getting discontinued or being temporarily out of stock. We also had a pipe burst in the ceiling right after Christmas, and it flooded part of our kitchen. We were lucky to be able to catch it before too much damage was done, but it still did a good amount of damage.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a wine bar and retail shop. We also sell locally roasted coffees and teas. We have hot drip coffee, iced coffee, cold brew, and a large assortment of teas. We have bakery items made by local bakers, small plates of food, and items made by local vendors. You can always come in and grab a flight of wine, a glass of wine, wine slushie, a mimosa, and more. We also do events such as craft nights, trivia, live music, cookie decorating classes, resin pouring classes, and more. We have an event room called The Cellar that we rent out for showers and smaller parties. We have a very casual atmosphere where you can come in knowing a lot about wine or nothing at all, and we will be happy to help you in a non-judgmental environment. We pride ourselves on being a place where we can make a lot of memories for and with our customers.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I’ve had to learn a lot of patience and loss of control that I will not be able to control everything that goes on. Usually, if I plan for one thing, the opposite happens. If we are out of something, that will be exactly what everyone wants to order that night. I’ve really had to learn to be patient and resourceful.
Contact Info:
- Website: thetangledvinebrunswick.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/the.tangledvine/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Tangled-Vine-122386393039606
