Sometime You Just Have to Hit the Pause Button ||
Six months ago my wife Colleen and I picked a date of June 1 to reassess our business/home life balance. We spent a good part of Sunday talking about where our priorities lie and what changes should be made to have a more balanced life. During Covid our business exploded because you guys all really like to drink… especially behind your computer screens while you were working from home and home schooling your kids.
Since April 20, 2020 FranksWine has hosted our Alfresco Patio Tastings each and every Wednesday giving the community a respite during a time when many of you were going batshit crazy stuck inside your homes. Every Wednesday the FranksWine Crew pulled out tables and chairs and umbrellas and arranged for Live Music and a Food Truck, called upon our vendors to supply libations to keep you happy and to support a different charity each week.
After hosting our 109th Alfresco Patio Tasting last Wednesday and raising over $200,000 for charities in 25 months we have decided to take a break.
As you can imagine the day-of setup and breakdown is very taxing week in and week out. The daily calls and emails and texts every week from our vendors, musicians, food truck chefs, charity organizers, and volunteers is starting to take a toll on the daily everyday business needs at FranksWine especially in the middle of our ridiculously busy wedding season. More importantly it’s taking away from the time I could be spending with my family at home.
Something’s gotta give. The constant organized chaos needs to settle before things start slipping; The Energizer Bunny in me needs to chill out and refocus. Effective immediately and with heavy heart all of our upcoming scheduled Alfresco Patio Tastings on Wednesdays are cancelled.
I know I will be greatly disappointing the many organizers of charities, dozens of musicians, the talented chefs, our neighbors and friends who have made reservations, and industry suppliers… and for that I apologize.
On the flipside I am looking forward to having breakfast with my Mom and Dad Wednesday morning. While I’m driving there I’ll take the time to call my kids – Amelia and Olivia – in NYC and wish them a happy day. On Wednesday at the shop I look forward to paying more attention to the needs of my hard-working and dedicated crew. On Wednesday afternoon when my wife calls to check in I look forward to actually listening to her instead of saying “hey, I gotta go”. On Wednesday night June 1st I look forward to leaving the shop at 5 PM and going straight home to pick up Colleen and my bonus kids – Bryce and Addy – and hang out at the pool that we belong to. I’m even going to make time next week to visit my college friend Mark who had a scary-ass surgery a month ago and I’ve been too “busy” to see him.
From the bottom of my heart I thank each and every patron – all 11,560 of you! – Who have sat in our parking lot to support the FranksWine Alfresco Patio Tastings. So much good came out of our weekly efforts…
Besides the money raised for charity, how about the countless number of new friends that we made over the last two years; The band members, the chefs, our local – and traveling – vendors, the countless volunteers from all the charities, and especially these awesome patrons that we hand-picked from our weekly patio tastings to join the FranksWine Crew: Brenda, John, Laurie, Liana, Nicole, Paige, and Teresa! I also thank our City, County, and State officials for cooperating every week to make our events happen.
We will continue to host occasional events on a much larger scale… NEXT UP: Our Last Hurrah !! Multiple bands, multiple food trucks, multiple charities, lots of libations… Date TBD! Thank you again for your continued support.
Much love and CHEERS!
Frank Pagliaro
