For longtime friends Philip Hatter and Jayson Anuszkiewicz, Mr. Bill’s Wine Cellar, a community staple, has been a portion of a great number of memories — from holidays to game nights to family celebrations.
Hatter, a Roanoke native, lived just 4 doors absent from the well-known wine and beer store when it initial opened on Brambleton Road around a 10 years ago.
Anuszkiewicz, a Michigan transplant lured listed here by a position with Roanoke Fire-EMS, exactly where he’s now a lieutenant, gravitated toward the welcoming, locally owned store as he delved into homebrewing and designed up his awareness of wine.
So when the two figured out that Mr. Bill, aka Invoice Phillips, was prepared to retire and hoping to pass on his store to new owners, it struck them as a organic fit.
“We knew the business,” said Hatter, incorporating the duo, whose people have been friends for years, wanted to carry on the legacy of glad gatherings and group relationship that Phillips established.
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“You know, wine and beer, when people today are buying those items, it’s typically for some sort of celebratory event,” he explained. “We want to be a position that fosters these gatherings, whether it be a team of close friends close to a grill on a Tuesday evening or a graduation or a wedding.”
“Our aim, truly, is to enable people rejoice the very good everyday living, fundamentally,” he reported. “That’s what we’re about.”
The sale, which took influence March 2, was a homecoming for Hatter, who earlier labored in espresso and for the earlier 5 many years was a director with a roastery in Knoxville, Tenn., strengthening his track record in products tests and sourcing.
His family members is now back in the Star Metropolis. Hatter ideas to get the job done whole-time in the shop. Anuszkiewicz will be supplying time to equally the keep and his occupation with the fire office. Phillips is consulting with the new group, and mentioned in an on-line announcement he was psyched for this new chapter for the enterprise that he opened in 2010.
Anuszkiewicz even now remembers a single of his initial visits to Mr. Bill’s. He asked if they at any time stocked a really hard-to-obtain beer from his dwelling condition. Phillips tracked it down, and acquired it for him.
That sort of dedication and support is some thing he wishes to go on. “It’s a superior legacy,” Anuszkiewicz said. “… We’re right here for the individuals. We’re in this article for the individuals who want to celebrate.”
The new owners prepare to revive the shop’s weekly tastings, just after a lengthy, pandemic-imposed hiatus, with the to start with occasion booked for late April. Other gatherings, which include meet up with-and-greets with wine and beer makers, are also in the will work.
Mr. Bill’s, which occupies a storefront spanning about 1,000 sq. ft, provides wines from an array of rising locations and rate details. Craft beers, ciders and meads also round out the cabinets.
The store, located at 2825 Brambleton Ave. in Roanoke, is open up from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays via Saturdays.