Cork & Olive Franchises Get Taste Of Independence

TAMPA - There's some good news after all for fans of Cork & Olive wine shops.

Despite the shutdown of the corporate offices and eight company-owned stores last week and the dismantling of the management structure that supported nine franchises, those franchisees say they're eager to continue in the business.

"Everybody embraces the concept. We believe in it, and everybody wants to continue to run their stores," said Lorette Vosloo, owner of the Cork & Olive franchise on Dale Mabry Highway in Carollwood. With her pouring tables, unpretentious advice and weekly wine tastings, her store is "part of a family," she said.

And on Friday, owner Michael Probst said he hopes to reopen at least four of the company-owned stores by the end of this week, although they will be scaled back and won't have a corporate support staff.

There are nine Cork & Olive stores across the Tampa Bay area.

"If we go back to our roots and do our business and stabilize the business, by the end of this year, we can evaluate and see what we're going to do with what we have," Probst said. He added that he's "very pleased" his franchisees intend to carry on.

Cork & Olive prides itself on customer service and being the neighborhood wine store. Prices average $13 to $16 per bottle, with the philosophy that wine doesn't have to be expensive to be good.

Probst informed his staff and franchisees on June 2 that a cash crunch and the late about-face of a key investor had doomed the parent company, Estate Wine Group. The franchisees quickly held a meeting of their own, deciding to strike their own deals with wine distributors and other vendors and keep their stores open.

Amy Fox, owner of a Cork & Olive in Ocoee, said getting out from under control of the franchise could be an advantage - exposing owners to a full line offered by a wine distributor, as opposed to the portfolio that the corporate parent presents to franchisees.

Linda Wright, owner of a Valrico store, said she was "extremely confident" she could make a go of the wine shop without the franchisor's support. There are many details unresolved - for example, whether the franchisees will be able to keep the Cork & Olive name - but "most definitely, I'm here to stay," Wright said.

"I'm in business," she said. "The door's open. Come on in."