Courtesy Tiffany Harmon
Courtesy Tiffany Harmon
When Tiffany and Rob Harmon opened Southside Wine + Spirits in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood last fall, it realized a longtime dream for the couple. That dream—along with retail wine sales—has only grown in the past seven months, Tiffany says, resulting in a larger location that's set to debut nearby, at 4920 Hampton Avenue, this Wednesday, July 1.
Sales have been steady since the shop first opened seven months ago, but when the pandemic hit, revenue spiked. Tiffany credits the uptick to Southside’s existing online retail store and delivery service (available to customers in the 63109, 63139, and 63116 ZIP codes), as well as the shop adding curbside pickup in March.
“When everything shut down, I just remember my husband and I were thinking, ‘OK, we have to figure out how to service this community and how to keep this wine shop going. We can't have people in the shop right now, so how are we going to do that?’" Tiffany recalls. “And we were so fortunate that we already had that website ready to go and people really ran with it.”
Southside’s new digs are located on the opposite side of Hampton, so while the shop is only moving a few blocks north, it will now technically be in the Southampton neighborhood. The space will double Southside’s square footage, allowing the Harmons to expand their inventory of existing wines, spirits, and beers as well as to add new ones. In particular, Tiffany notes that she plans to expand beer, hard seltzer, and local spirit offerings, including products such as St. Louis Distillery’s Cardinal Sin Vodka and StilL 630’s Soulard Island Rum.
“We're getting a much bigger cooler, so we can get into a lot of canned hard seltzers and beer this summer,” Tiffany says. "We're really expanding; we had a very small but well-cultivated selection of wine, and we’re excited to expand that for our customer base and our wine lovers. We are also selling a lot of spirits; I think people are cocktailing a lot and experimenting with that, especially now that they're home, so we're trying to get into boutique spirits.”
Courtesy Tiffany Harmon
The new shop’s interior reflects the same world traveler–inspired design and decor featured in the original space, which was developed with help from Rob's sister, stylist Angie Harmon. Decked out with vintage maps and globes, the store will be available to rent for small gatherings, wine tastings and events in the future.
In addition to design touches from Angie, the shop has been supported by the whole family; Tiffany’s mother has been helping fulfill orders while Rob helps oversee website purchases, maintenance, and delivery. Even the couple’s young children, Lydia and Niall, have helped choose a wider range of sodas and candies for the new location. “That's going to be their summer task, to get that going for us,” Tiffany says with a laugh.
The new location will continue to offer delivery and curbside orders, as well as in-person retail sales. Tiffany notes that customers are encouraged to wear face masks inside the shop.
“This [new] shop will be open to the public, and we'll keep it small and then maybe eventually open up some more of our tastings," Tiffany says. “If we can figure out a way to do that and keep it safe for everybody, then that's what we'll be doing.”
Although business has been steady during the pandemic, Tiffany says she and Rob were unsure of what to expect back in mid-March, when the COVID-19 virus first began to spread across the St. Louis area. Running a newly minted brick-and-mortar had already presented the couple with challenges, and they weren’t certain whether the business could survive on delivery and curbside pickup orders.
Courtesy Tiffany Harmon
Reflecting on the past three months, Tiffany says the shop’s ability to not just survive but thrive amid the pandemic is a testament to the community’s support.
“My husband calls us Bubba Gump Wine, because [it’s] like a hurricane came through and somehow we're still standing,” Tiffany says. “But truly it's the neighborhood. We were so excited at the start of the year, because we had really booked a lot of events, and that was a big part of what got us started. We love doing that, and unfortunately a lot of those events are going to be canceled or rescheduled. [The pandemic] has changed the face of our business.”
