Sharon Sevrens had a thriving career as an investment banker. But when she and her husband experienced September 11th from their apartment building just a block and a half from the World Trade Center, she knew it was time for a change.
Over time she had developed a passion for wine. So with no experience in retail sales or in the wine business, she purchased a liquor license from Whole Foods for $150,000. And in October 2005, she opened a wine store called Amanti Vino (which roughly translates to “lover of wine” in Italian) in her home town of Montclair,, New Jersey. It’s been a runaway success with a second store now planned in Morristown, NJ.
Check out the Amanti Vino website.
Special thanks to a public relations colleague Sharon Nieuwenhuis for connecting us with Sharon Sevrens and making this episode possible.
“I took wine classes as a hobby and then started teaching,” Sevrens said. “I soon found out I loved my night and weekend job a lot more than my day job.”