Former professional athletes kick off trendy wine bar
The owners of The Wine Loft in Southlake are already scoring big points on their brand new playing field.
During the recent grand opening of the upscale wine bar tucked into Southlake Town Square, co-proprietor Rickey Dudley said his fears about launching his own business quickly melted away.
“At one point, it was wall-to-wall people. Every time I walked by, people said, ‘We love it, we love it, we love it. I’m going to tell my friends about it,’” said Dudley, a former professional football player.
Longtime buddies and now business partners Dudley and Michael Peck, both 35, had been searching for second careers after their respective playing days ended.
The two friends met almost 20 years ago at a Virginia prep school, then went their separate ways to college.
Dudley, a native of Henderson, Texas, started as a basketball player at Ohio State University but switched to football. The No. 9 pick by the Oakland Raiders in the 1996 National Football League Draft, Dudley played nine seasons for the Raiders, the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until forced off the field with a thumb injury at the end of 2004.
A native of Tennessee, Peck played basketball at Marshall University. He worked briefly for Pitney Bowes Inc., but returned on court as a collegiate and professional womenÂ’s basketball coach. Peck led winning teams during six years as an assistant coach at the University of Florida at Gainesville and held a similar position at Penn State when the team went to the 2000 Final Four. After a stint with the WNBA Orlando Miracle staff, he returned to Gainesville.
Peck says he and Dudley have remained best friends through the years.
“We have talked on and off about going into business together. We got toward the end of our athletic careers and the timing was perfect,” Peck said. “I’ve always itched to own my own business and Rickey and I decided what better time than the present.”
The two entrepreneurs looked at numerous business ideas.
“We wanted to invest in a company where we could enjoy profit margins but, more importantly, we wanted to invest in something we thought we would enjoy,” Peck said. “This is a lifestyle investment.”
The Wine Loft began in New Orleans in 2003 but was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The owners planted roots in Baton Rouge and began selling franchise operations in 2005. There are currently three locations in Louisiana and three in Alabama. The Southlake location is the first in Texas and one of six Dudley and Peck plan on opening in the Metroplex.
“The entire atmosphere of The Wine Loft is what appealed to me: It’s elegant and sexy but feels like home at the same time,” Dudley says.
The Wine Loft offers 75 different wines by the glass and 250 wines by the bottle from around the globe that Peck and Dudley hand selected.
“We provide a unique environment, with music, the loveseats, and a patio,” Peck said. “People can enjoy the outdoors or the intimacy of candlelight indoors. We have an eclectic menu that our customers are enjoying too.”
The Wine LoftÂ’s chef, Joanne Irizarry, hails from New York City and studied at the Texas Culinary Academy where she received the Le Cordon Bleu certification in culinary arts. Menu samplings include escargot vol au vent, wild mushroom bruschetta, a charcuterie board, barbecue port duck tacos and for sweets, chocolate molton lava cake.
“It’s a relaxed environment: it’s a business setting, it’s a social setting, and it’s a fun setting,” Peck said. “It’s a girl’s night out; it’s a guy’s night out. It’s a great before- or after-dinner venue or an after-work hot spot and it’s good for private events.”
Contact Dillard at bdillard@bizpress.net
