Wine Merchants will close at the end of February. Winston-Salem business has been around for 30 years. | Dining Leave a comment

Wine Merchants developed a reputation around town in part by focusing on wines that other stores didn’t carry.

In 2011, Wine Merchants moved from the quiet location on the dead-end Mooney Street to 205 S. Stratford Road in the Stratford Towers center across from Thruway Shopping Center.

The move gave the shop a quantum leap in visibility. It no longer was a well-kept secret among wine lovers. At the time of the move, Gallos sold his share, and longtime employees Beth Binder and Allison Chrapek became partners with Bronk and Jovce. (Binder now owns Winston-Salem Wine Market.)

In the new location, the owners had a kitchen installed and opened Vin205, a wine bar and café. In other words, it became a combination restaurant and retail wine shop. It also sold beer, as well as cheeses and a few other gourmet foods.

Ownership changed a bit more in the intervening years, but the shop has been owned by the Flints, Miller and Shoaf since 2017.

In February 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic hit, the owners announced plans for a new business, Cleave & Cork, that that they planned to open on Broad Street. It was to be a combination restaurant, butcher shop, wine shop and gourmet deli.

As of a year ago, Caleb Flint and Alan Miller said they still planned to go ahead with Cleave & Cork, even though the pandemic had delayed progress.