THE most profitable company on the planet!

Most of you, I am sure by now, have heard of the relatively new company, Groupon. I know that many of you are recent, new guests because of Groupon. This is an incredible success story that is worth noting. 3 years ago this company was little more than an idea. Andrew Mason founded Groupon in 2008. Groupon was born out of a piece of technology and site called The Point. This was developed by Andrew as way of conducting on-line fund raising. A year later Groupon came on the scene.

From a marketing and advertising perspective this is an absolute brilliant business model. When Vincent first approached me with this idea after meeting with the Groupon rep, my first response was, “where is the catch”. Going to advertise Mercy and sell a discount coupon to over 350,000 in the Dallas metroplex and it doesn’t cost me a penny? I was clearly missing something. He was absolutely correct. This was in June of 2010. On our first attempt we sold 1,000 coupons on a Thursday. The very next day, we had an hour wait for dinner and Saturday saw the same result. Our business jumped significantly and remained high throughout the rest of the year. We were able to get reach into the market that, as a small company, we could have never afforded to do through traditional advertising channels. We not only were able to offer our regular guests an opportunity to visit us and get a significant discount but also attract an entire new group of guests, that after 8 years in business, we had not been able to reach.

With this success we had another round with Groupon and are results were twice what they were last year. We fully expect similar results throughout this year. Groupon is a very short 3 years is now in 44 countries and 500 markets around the world and has attained the prestigious status of being THE most profitable company on the planet! In 3 years, what an amazing success story. In a down economy and the world in turmoil it is inspiring to see that creativity and entrepreneurship is alive and doing well. Good for you Groupon. Congratulations. We wish you all the continued success in the world! Mercy is proud to have been an early adopter!

Glen Agritelley
Owner

A powerful little wine

Chateau Grand-Maison Cuvee Speciale 2005 Cotes de Bourg
as an AOC ( appellation d’origine controlee ); this is a powerful little wine out of Bordeaux.

The vineyards in the Cotes de Bourg were planted first by the Romans after they understood the importance of the richness and diversity of the soil. The micro-terroir ( a terroir into a terroir ) is mainly compose of clay and limestone, perfect for drainage and rich minerals. The majority of the vineyards are mainly merlot and malbec. This wine come from a very small distributor and we only receive delivery every 45 days.

Chateau Grand-Maison Cuvee Speciale 2005 Cotes de Bourg is composed with a base of merlot with a hint of malbec and cab franc. What I personally like about this wine is its good balance. As a 2005 vintage, it has balance, softer tannins and acidity. With its ruby red color, you will find aromas of plum, currant, and cassis and I invite you to pair it with our spicy Blackened Ahi Tuna from our delicious and healthy appetizer menu.

Chateau Grand-Maison Cuvee Speciale 2005 Cotes de Bourg is available now at Mercy wine bar for $45 a bottle (limited availability).

Vincent Havard
General Manager and Operating Partner

Thanking all for the work that they do

It has been almost two years since I brought up the topic of teamwork (Mercy style).

We were notified last week that we took top honors for Wine Bar of the Year from Nightclub and Bar Magazine, so I wanted to take time to thank and congratulate the staff at Mercy. Their dedication and teamwork are the building blocks to our success and I want to publicly thank all of them for the job they do...day in and day out.

Teamwork : is a joint action by two or more people, in which each person contributes with different skills and express his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group in order to achieve common goals.

When guests compliment me on the quality of their "Mercy experience", I nod my head in deep appreciation of the compliment. But I am quick to point out to them. "We have a great staff at Mercy !" Our employees know their job, they have a passion for what they do, they enjoy each other's company and when a member of the staff "is in the weeds", they quickly step up to help. It makes my life as a manager so much easier ! So, thanks to all of the servers : Craig, Heather, Michael, M.J., Nathan, Rachel, Ric, Slaten and Tong.

Our server assistants, Gloria, Denice, Blas and Jorge, know just when to step in to keep the operation running smoothly. Our friendly faces that say hello and good bye, Anita and Tatiana, do so much more than just greet and seat our guests.

Similarly in the Kitchen: Juan, Ismael, Welington, Esdras and Martin operate and run one of the smoothest, most efficient kitchen operations I have ever seen in my numerous years in this business. The comradery and respect that they show to each other is truly admirable and while each have their assigned duties; no task is beneath or above any other.

So, Glen and Vincent, it has been a great 8 years at Mercy and I look forward to our adventures ahead !

Mike Castagne
Operations Manager

The Word is IN

Nightclub and Bar Magazine has voted Mercy Wine Bar #1 wine bar in the US!!! We couldn’t be more thrilled with this news. We were so honored to have been notified that we were a finalist and to have been selected as the best is truly an honor. Many of you who have heard the news have asked how is the selection made. I have copied this directly from the magazine’s website. They explain in much better than I and comes directly from them.

“The entry and judging process truly set this award program apart, instilling it with credibility as the premier industry recognition program. This is not an editor’s choice program, or one in which “friends” of Nightclub & Bar and the Nightclub & Bar Convention and Trade Show are the only ones considered and recognized. Instead, venue owners, operators and managers, as well as suppliers, vendors and other industry members eager to recognize excellence in on-premise concepts, programs, talent and professionalism are invited to submit entries via nightclubandbarawards.com. Qualifying entries are then put before an expert judging panel composed of top consultants, developers, educators, writers, editors and trainers in the industry. The judges rank their first, second and third choices for each category they judge, and a calculation is applied to identify the Finalists, and ultimately, the Winners, based on the ballots.” Nightclub and Bar

It is an incredible honor when your industry recognizes you as one of the best. We fully intend to celebrate this recognition and you will be hearing much more about that in the very near future. Many plans are being developed to help let our Mercy friends know and join us in celebrating this great honor.

Glen Agritelley
Owner

Form follows function

The Large Oval table at Mercy has served a valuable purpose these last eight years. Its primary purpose served as a room divider; separating the Dining Room and the Lounge areas. It also became a focal point for us to distribute Mercy promotional materials and to showcase some of our various awards. On evenings when we have been host to wedding receptions and bridal showers; it served as a convenient location to place the guest registry and to collect the wedding gifts.

Mercy has become a destination for many of our guests and their friends. Live entertainment on Thursday, Saturday and select Sunday evenings attract the hungry and thirsty; filling their stomachs, quenching their palates and enticing their senses. Quite often small groups arrive and much to their dismay and our distress, we are unable to seat everyone together.

Enter Mercy's new Oval Table !



Our enhanced table has been elevated to a comfortable dining and drinking height and has been outfitted with another new chair design from our friends at Iron Chinchilla. Mercy's newest destination comfortably seats 10 for dining, appetizing, and socializing. It is our newest destination and we are very pleased to offer it to you.

Mike Castagne
Operations Manager

Ramping it up

If you have been out and about town, you have seen most of the larger grocery stores allocating large shelf space to wine and beer. The change of "off premise consumption" has gone into full effect. We are expecting our permit revisiion to be approved at the beginning of March which enable us to provide a similiar service to our guests and allow take home wine purchases.

We have worked diligently to source hard to find wines and some things that are unique to add to our wine list and we are very excited about our ability to offer those same wines for you to take home. Unlike, beer or hard liquor, wine which is outstanding one year may not be the next. So much of wine production is really dependent upon weather and soil conditions, so that what is good or great one year may not be the next. This poses a real challenge for us.

Another variable is many of the great wines we source have very limited production, which means we must constantly be looking for new gems all of the time. On any given day Vincent is tasting 10-20 wines a day in search for a few new good ones to bring on board to the Mercy family of wines, knowing others will be coming off the list.

We are very excited about our upcoming ability to bring you those wines at retail. We are in process of ramping up all of the support materials for those wines. We are looking at packaging for wine carriers. We will be selling our stemware as well as wine keys and other Mercy logo items. We will be adding these to our website. This is an exciting addition to Mercy and something we have waited for and have had a lot of request for.

Watch our website for more information at mercywinebar.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Take a bit of Mercy home with you and enjoy !!!!

Glen Agritelley
Owner

Creating a New Passion

You may not be aware that Mercy receives deliveries from 17 different wine distributors. To obtain some obscure wines; to offer new wine experiences; takes a bit of work. Many wines offered at Mercy are not available in retail stores. Finding great wines that are a hit with our customers is very rewarding but it also can be frustrating at times; especially so, when we discover that a wine is no longer going to be exported or it has reached the end of its production.

My stepfather always told me "good things take a long time and patience is everything". Choosing a replacement wine for one that is lost takes time. It is not a simple matter of just substituting one wine for another. Mercy's staff possess a knowledge and a passion for the wines that we sell. So bringing in a new wine to our cellar requires a new round of education and a sharing of experiences. A momentum develops and builds among the staff. This momentum becomes a passion which is shared with our guests.

Keeping this momentum is the key for us and to be truthful about the experiences we are sharing. Selecting a replacement wine requires me to find one which is equal to or surpasses the wine that it replaced. We recently lost a wine from Italy made of Aglianico and I just found a replacement for it.

2004, AZIENDA AGRICOLA COLLI DELLA MURGIA, PUGLIA MAZZARO AGLIANICO CABERNET SAUVIGNON

It is made from Aglianico grapes with a Cabernet Sauvignon nuance. Before being introduced to your palate, it goes through a period of aging in nobles oaken casks for at least 24 months to develop a deep, fleshy and ripe fruitfulness. Body and substance, distinction and vigor combined with the deep ruby-red color, keep this wine for a long time. The excellent level of the alcohol content stands the bouquet which shows all its complexity.

I personally love the toasty and ashy notes coming from the mineral and volcanic soil of Puglia.

Enjoy at Mercy for $15/glass. $45/bottle.

Vincent Havard
General Manager and Operating Partner