We were talking about shuttering, then the business started turning around. Now, we have steady growth and things are good.
Granite Creek Vineyards
Granite Creek Vineyards in Chino Valley is grateful for its strong base of local customer support that was built up before the pandemic and kept the business in operation with window service.
“Most of the business came from regulars and people from the neighborhood,” said Manager Ann Kennedy. “They wanted to know how we were doing, and we couldn’t have done it without them.”
New owner Alie Amato purchased the business in Chino Valley last February. Her plan was to turn the property into a cat sanctuary. However, the customer demand was such that Amato decided to keep the vineyard open while still caring for cats on the grounds.
Granite Creek Vineyards offers live music, including soft rock, bluegrass and country, on Saturday afternoons. Amato hopes to offer acoustic performances on Sunday afternoons soon. Meanwhile, the Winey Cats tasting room is undergoing renovations.
For more information, visit wineycats.com.
Heidi Lane Cafe
Housed in a little red barn building in Chino Valley, Heidi Lane Café is open and business is growing.
Owners Joseph Swifka and Emily Hughes opened the restaurant in December 2019 just before COVID-19 hit, and almost closed down during the pandemic.
Heidi Lane Café promotes healthy food selections, created from the owners’ organic farm and other local farms. Everything is made on-site except for cured meats and cheese.
“We try to champion our local farmers, ranchers and other producers who are passionate about supplying high quality [foods],” said Swifka. “For a small city, we have a strong farming community and they’re doing a lot of great work. We want to give a snapshot of the produce in this area.”
Without a baseline to understand what business should be like in a normal year, the owners say the café struggled at first. “It felt like it was slower than it should be,” said Swifka. “It was tough. We were talking about shuttering, then the business started turning around. Now, we have steady growth and things are good.”
At one point, some of their suppliers ran out of products. “We pivoted and sold pantry items that our customers wanted, like flower, sugar and canned goods,” he said.
The small café seats 15 people and prepares a lot of takeout orders. “We’re up about 30% now and we continue to grow,” he said.
Heidi Lane Café is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, with a brunch menu that offers the Dutch Baby, which Joseph says is similar to a pancake but a bit more eggy, with custard similar to Yorkshire pudding. Sandwiches include the Po Boy, Cuban ham, hot beef and Italian.
The Blue Note
One business that did well during the pandemic and continues to thrive is The Blue Note in the Prescott Gateway Mall, which sells, repairs and tunes guitars and ukuleles.
Owner and operator Rick Johnson said the mall stayed open, so sales continued as usual; plus, with people sheltering in place, music was a popular activity for customers. “They thought, ‘I can buy an instrument and stay home,’” he said, adding that musicians had more time to practice their craft while events and night clubs were closed. “The musicians had more time to sit around and get better – and they did. I could hear it.”
He also noticed an uptick in sales for headphones, mixing boards and microphones.
The Blue Note opened in December in 2019 and business continues to boom as the mall is getting busier and more people are moving into the area. “Being in the mall is a good thing because we get a lot of walk-in traffic,” he said.
The Blue Note also is a guitar manufacturer. It has made guitars for Alice Cooper and Jimmy Buffet and continues to make custom guitars.
The store is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. QCBN
By Stan Bindell, QCBN