5 Things To Be Thankful For

With all the craziness going on in the world, it is sometimes hard to practice gratitude. But with Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend, we thought it was appropriate to list five things we are most thankful for this past year. As most of you may know, just over a year ago we opened the first Vintner's Cellar brew-on-premise wine-making store in Saskatoon. There is nothing that can really prepare you for the type of adventure you'll face when opening a small business retail store. Like anything, there are ups and downs, but over the past year there are many things we are thankful for and we will share five of them with you!

1) Our Customers

Our customers are our favourite part of this business. When we were being trained at Vintner's Cellar Brantford, the owners, John and Crystal said, "your customers will become like family." And they couldn't have been more right! The people we have met, the conversations and relationships we have developed with each of our customers is what makes coming to work everyday enjoyable. Not too mention, the continued support we receive from our loyal customers is something we are extremely

thankful for this year.

2) Our Friends and Family

Any small business owner can attest that your friends and family are your biggest champions. From supporting your business through purchases, to bringing you food and coffee just at the right moment, providing business advice in all forms, offering free labour, and never failing to show up at grand openings and anniversaries. We are beyond thankful for the best group of friends and family that have supported us in this first year of business and who continue to support us going forward.

3) Our Business

We are the first Vintner's Cellar store to open in Saskatoon, and the only store in Saskatchewan at the moment. Each day we are thankful that we get the opportunity to open our doors and sell delicious wine in this beautiful city and province. Our community is far and wide with customers coming from all over to make wine with us as well as take wine kits home. We are grateful that our business can serve this vast community of wine lovers.

We are also grateful for the ability to build our business in a city we love. Saskatoon is an awesome city that supports and honours small business, and for that we are thankful we can share our love of wine and wine making with you.

4) Our Franchise

We lucked out with an ah-mazing franchise team! We continue to carve new ground and the support our team in Ontario provides us is invaluable. I am not aware of any franchise where you can call the president and they will answer 9 times out of 10. Not too mention....they work their butt off when they come to visit! Over the past year, we have covered some new ground and this team has helped us along the way. Without them, this experience so far would have been way different! We are thankful for all the lessons, feedback, advice, support, and direction this team has provided us.

5) Yummy Wine!

Last, but definitely not least, we are thankful for the opportunity to make and enjoy yummy wine! The wine making process is a combination of art and science and we are loving it, especially the finished product. With all the hard work being done to build the business, we have to reward ourselves with wine! Our winery grade products are a crowd pleaser, and we are thankful that we get to enjoy an abundance of this yummy wine!

We wish you a happy Thanksgiving! Eat, drink, and be thankful!

Cheers,

Vintner's Cellar Saskatoon