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Wine Wrangler on the Move
Wine Wrangler moves into new home
Posted: Monday, Sep 22nd, 2008
Josh Petray 9-23-08
Visitors, tourists and locals who get off the train in search of information on things do to and places to see in Paso Robles now have a new resource.
The Wine Wrangler in Paso Robles is settling into its new location at the Paso Robles Train Depot, 800 Pine St., Ste. 101 in the former home of the Chamber of Commerce/Visitor Conference Bureau’s Welcome Center.
The Wine Wrangler, owned by Sarah and Coy Barnes, is now operating with the city through a Tourism Services Agreement to provide welcome and hospitality services designed to promote the unique character of Paso Robles and enhance the visitor experience, provide personal concierge services, tourist information, Wine Country merchandise, as well as sign-ups and information on the Paso Robles Wine Club at the new “welcoming and active facility.”
“It’s been great,” Sarah said of the move. “We love it here.”
The space is being used simultaneously as the business’s offices with a tourism informational display area, a move that has allowed the steadily growing wine tour operation to put a face to its business, which was formerly home-based.
The Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce is still the only official visitor center as contracted with the city, located at 1225 Park St. in downtown Paso Robles.
“We offer a wealth of knowledge specifically about the wine area, but also we offer information about the agricultural stops in the area, the local downtown businesses and the things to do in the area,” Coy said. “Now most of that has been done through the Chamber of Commerce in the past and they’re still doing a great job, but as a tour operator and getting out there, we are here to help tourists when they come into town.”
Coy said the couple is excited about the move.
“I love the new facility,” he said. “I love the fact that it provides a face to our place. As opposed to being a home based business we’re now a retail operation as well as an information area, and we can meet and greet the customers that we would only normally talk to on the phone.”
The space — roughly a 1,000-square-foot portion of the train station — has been vacant since July 2007. The spot was empty when the Wine Wrangler arrived. They came in and built an office and counter with desks and storage, and are still working on securing licensing to pour wine for the Paso Robles Wine Club.
The council had approved an arrangement that calls for tenant improvement costs and the value of employee resources to be roughly equivalent to the value of market base rent for the building space on a monthly and annualized basis, according to city staff.
The renovation calls for installation of service counters, public seating and a possible future coffee and/or wine bar as a backdrop for tourism and hospitality services, according to city officials. The area will house an array of visitor materials made available to the public during normal business hours.
Since opening, Wine Wrangler has seen a steady flow of people in and out of the visitor center. Sarah said many people are unaware that the city’s downtown is only blocks away, and many return with smiling faces when they are pointed in that direction.
“Visitors to the area and tourists should come in for information about Paso Robles, the surrounding areas and even the county,” Coy said. “We’re here to help give information to everybody who comes in based on what their requirements and requests are. We’re trying to just profile the county in a way that visitors can use the information, basically be a concierge to the area, and offer help, information and anything else that we can give them as far as customer services goes.”
The new center is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, call them at 238-5700, toll free at 866-238-6400 or send an e-mail to info@thewinewrangler.com.
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Phone: (805) 238-5700 |
Fax: (805) 238-9003 |
TCP# 18003S |
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| Copyright © 2007 The Wine Wrangler |
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