The retail shop I went to visit is called Bottoms Up Wines and Spirits located at 731 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238.I called in advance the day before to see if I could have a one on one with a sales person there, but no one picked up the phone. So I went the next day blind and to my surprise it was closed. I was not aware that wine shops don’t open that often in the morning. There was no sign telling me what time they opened, so I checked online and found out they open everyday at noon. I had class and work to attend to, so I went about my day and came back around seven. When I arrived at the store gates were open and the lights were on, finally. I walked into the establishment and say a young man no older than 25 sitting on a table and another young man no older than 32 sitting at the cash register. The younger man greeted me first with a “wazzup, what can I do for you?”, I immediately knew that this place was a more casual spot. I replied telling him about myself and why I was here, and he told me to look around and ask any questions I had.

 I noticed that the wines were separated by price, with the labels $14, $16, $18, etc. painted on the floor. After looking around I asked my questions about the wines and then finished with personal questions about themselves. The younger man’s name was Nick and he started working there 6 months ago, with little to no knowledge about wine and now he is moderately knowledgeable about the industry. He said he came in because he saw the help wanted sign, not because he was really interested in wines. But his interest quickly changed after he started learning about it. The other gentleman’s name was Andrew and he has been working there for only 2 months, but had past experience in another retail wine shop that he worked at for 2 ½ years. He said that this was his passion and will love to one day be a spokesperson for a high end wine corp.  

One thing I found really interesting was their “shelf talkers”. They were not in the open on a pedestal, they were where the other wines were but with a tag on them with a picture of people on them. Andrew explained that this is their way of expressing which is their favorite wines were, by putting this tag with pictures of their employees and having them explain the wine and why they like it. I liked this concept a lot because it creates a connection with the customers that the employees actually like what they are selling instead of selling an expensive wine that might not even taste good. I ended the night by telling them it was a pleasure meeting them, shaking both of their hands and I left.