Main Street, Tucker got a little more whimsical in November with the addition of a new retail shop, Wine & Whimseys. Bridget Elliott Brady cut the ribbon on her storefront and welcomed Tucker to her lifelong dream of owning a wine shop.
“I sort of wake up every day thinking I can’t believe I am able to do this,” Brady said. “I can’t believe that I get a crack and a chance and a shot to prove to myself.”
Bridget grew up in an Italian household and cut her teeth in the service industry helping out in the family restaurant. Her grandparents opened “Sunny Italy Café” in 1926 and her mother continues the legacy of running the restaurant to this day. As a child, Bridget would help her grandfather sort and stack the wine for the restaurant, and she fondly remembers her uncle introducing the family to new wines at gatherings and credits him as the catalyst to her lifelong love of wine.
After graduating from Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in business, Bridget started her 20 year long career in wine with E. & J. Gallo Winery. While building retail display shelving to hold over 300 bottles of wine, Bridget would dream of starting her own business and developed a business plan for a wine shop.
Fast forward to today and that dream has come true with the help and support of her husband and children. True to Bridget’s vision, Wine & Whimseys stocks a variety of wines from all over and spanning the spectrum of affordability. Customers are offered a tasting as they enter to start the conversation and help guide their shopping experience.
“The whimsy part for me is those things that are extra,” Bridget said. “It adds a little touch”. In addition to wine, the shop offers wine accessories including humorous cups, towels, cutting boards and more. Bridget continued, “You will get that something extra that you couldn’t find at a traditional grocery or liquor store. We want to be something the community will look to for unique things.”
Locating her business in Tucker was an easy decision for Bridget. A resident of Tucker herself, Bridget was thrilled when a perfect spot in downtown opened. Wine & Whimseys’ opening marks the return of retail shopping to Main Street.
Wine & Whimseys is located at 2344 Main Street in Tucker. Shop hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 12:30 to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
