Addison hosted a “World Festival” this weekend at Village on the Parkway. Unfortunately the tornado warning and torrential rains dampened Saturday but Sunday was beautiful and the people came in droves. An estimated 10,000 people showed up to sample food, drink and merchandise from around the world. Entertainment was everywhere and it was a great family day.
From the commerce perspective it was great exposure for the shops in Village on the Parkway. Mercy was open at noon and we had a brisk crowd, many of them first time visitors of Mercy. It was great to see new people excited about finding Mercy. This weekend substantiates how critical this center is for the future of Addison. This center needs more stores that will draw more people into it. A key piece of this puzzle will be decided next Tuesday on election day. Citizens of Addison will get to vote on allowing beer and wine to be sold for off premises consumption. If this new ordinance passes, it will allow a big, higher end grocery store, such as Whole Foods or Central Market to move in. The increase in traffic will be a boom to the center and to the tax base of Addison.
Addison has so much to offer. Large chain specialty grocery stores will not move to Addison without the ability to sell beer and wine. All surrounding cities have moved in this direction. Dallas has this before the voters as well and it is expected to pass. Addison needs to take a leadership role here to stay with the times. This decision will have an impact on its development for the next 10 years.
Please go and vote next Tuesday and vote YES for Proposition 1.
Glen Agritelley
Owner
Monday, October 25, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
It can’t come soon enough
November voting can’t come soon enough. With all of the political personal bashing candidates are doing it is hard to keep the issues in mind. There is one very important decision being put in front of the voters of Addison and Dallas this November. On the ballot, the decision to roll back the liquor blue laws, that were put in place after the turn of the century when prohibition was the rave of the day. The most confusing part is that there is no consistency within the state for who can sell liquor, beer and wine and who can’t. Several years ago Addison took a leadership role in allowing beer, wine and spirits to be sold in limited areas as well as being served in local restaurants. Addison has been a leader in attracting some fine restaurants to the area because of this leadership role.
Addison now faces another important decision. In a few weeks the voters will have a chance to modify the existing regulations and vote to allow beer and wine to be sold at retail elsewhere in the city beside from Inwood Road. It is our position at Mercy that we vote to allow this to happen. Our state liquor license allows us to sell wine by the bottle at retail however the local ordinance forbids this. It is a mere convenience to our guests who come in and try something and would like to take a bottle or two home. Right now we must send that guest somewhere else to find the wine or he might not be able to get it due to Mercy having an exclusive on that specific wine in our area.
Towns surrounding us all allow this convenience. Beer and wine are currently sold in grocery stores and convenience stores in our surrounding cities and towns and Dallas is about to vote for this in November as well. Should this pass in Dallas, as it appears there is huge support for this change, Addison will be the only town not allowing this convenience. The opponents state that crime will increase and more police will be needed because of the increase in liquor sales throughout the town. Experience proves this to just not be the case. One doesn’t have to look very far to see that crime has not increased in towns such as Plano or Grapevine simply because you can buy beer and wine in a grocery store.
There is a longer term economic development issue here as well. Addison is in dire need of a high end grocery stores such as Whole Foods or Central Market. None of these stores are willing to come into the town unless they can sell beer and wine. Nearly 10% of their sales are attributed to beer and wine in stores where they are allowed to sell it. This is a significant part of their business that they are not willing to give up. There is also the lingering threat that existing stores such as Tom Thumb and Sam’s Club may consider moving out if this doesn’t pass. For both chains, sales of beer and wine are significant where it can be sold.
Nowhere else in the country am I aware of the liquor laws as they currently are in Texas. Our state leads the country in putting people back to work as well as other key areas. Why should we have to live with liquor laws that have long out seen their day of effectiveness? This is an important issue of economic development and convenience for the residents of Addison and Dallas. We encourage you to overlook the personal bashing in this election that the media keeps streaming to us and look at important issues like this one that can affect our livelihoods and lives right here in Addison.
Mercy
Glen Agritelley, owner
Addison now faces another important decision. In a few weeks the voters will have a chance to modify the existing regulations and vote to allow beer and wine to be sold at retail elsewhere in the city beside from Inwood Road. It is our position at Mercy that we vote to allow this to happen. Our state liquor license allows us to sell wine by the bottle at retail however the local ordinance forbids this. It is a mere convenience to our guests who come in and try something and would like to take a bottle or two home. Right now we must send that guest somewhere else to find the wine or he might not be able to get it due to Mercy having an exclusive on that specific wine in our area.
Towns surrounding us all allow this convenience. Beer and wine are currently sold in grocery stores and convenience stores in our surrounding cities and towns and Dallas is about to vote for this in November as well. Should this pass in Dallas, as it appears there is huge support for this change, Addison will be the only town not allowing this convenience. The opponents state that crime will increase and more police will be needed because of the increase in liquor sales throughout the town. Experience proves this to just not be the case. One doesn’t have to look very far to see that crime has not increased in towns such as Plano or Grapevine simply because you can buy beer and wine in a grocery store.
There is a longer term economic development issue here as well. Addison is in dire need of a high end grocery stores such as Whole Foods or Central Market. None of these stores are willing to come into the town unless they can sell beer and wine. Nearly 10% of their sales are attributed to beer and wine in stores where they are allowed to sell it. This is a significant part of their business that they are not willing to give up. There is also the lingering threat that existing stores such as Tom Thumb and Sam’s Club may consider moving out if this doesn’t pass. For both chains, sales of beer and wine are significant where it can be sold.
Nowhere else in the country am I aware of the liquor laws as they currently are in Texas. Our state leads the country in putting people back to work as well as other key areas. Why should we have to live with liquor laws that have long out seen their day of effectiveness? This is an important issue of economic development and convenience for the residents of Addison and Dallas. We encourage you to overlook the personal bashing in this election that the media keeps streaming to us and look at important issues like this one that can affect our livelihoods and lives right here in Addison.
Mercy
Glen Agritelley, owner
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Screw It !
A customer remark about Mercy really caught my attention .... "a true wine bar that has screw top bottle caps is pretty degrading."
I am so sorry some people can be offended by it. It is an evolution that is occurring. Some of the reasoning behind using screw off bottle caps :
1: A decline in cork production could devastate cork forests, which house trees hundreds of years old and contain rare ecosystems that would disappear should cork production cease.
2. Wineries in Australia and New Zealand gravitate towards metal caps because importing cork is expensive.
3. The screw top has been praised because it does not carry the risk of cork taint. Cork taint occurs when a cork is contaminated by mold and spoils the wine it seals.
4. Modern packaging technology has introduced screw tops that can be calibrated to effectively seal wine. Cork is not essential to bottling wine, it's actually a remnant of the traditional winemaking process.
I am sad to see more bottles with the screw top enclosure .I always love opening a bottle of wine at the table the traditional way because it has a bit of charm and some showmanship.
I thank all wineries that actually use both enclosures: one for restaurant use and another one for retail purposes.
Cheers.
Vincent Havard
General Manager and Operating Partner
I am so sorry some people can be offended by it. It is an evolution that is occurring. Some of the reasoning behind using screw off bottle caps :
1: A decline in cork production could devastate cork forests, which house trees hundreds of years old and contain rare ecosystems that would disappear should cork production cease.
2. Wineries in Australia and New Zealand gravitate towards metal caps because importing cork is expensive.
3. The screw top has been praised because it does not carry the risk of cork taint. Cork taint occurs when a cork is contaminated by mold and spoils the wine it seals.
4. Modern packaging technology has introduced screw tops that can be calibrated to effectively seal wine. Cork is not essential to bottling wine, it's actually a remnant of the traditional winemaking process.
I am sad to see more bottles with the screw top enclosure .I always love opening a bottle of wine at the table the traditional way because it has a bit of charm and some showmanship.
I thank all wineries that actually use both enclosures: one for restaurant use and another one for retail purposes.
Cheers.
Vincent Havard
General Manager and Operating Partner
Monday, September 27, 2010
Wine and Football
I always look forward to the start of a new professional football season. The last few years, myself and a group of current and former employees formed our own fantasy football league. Since many of us also work on Sunday, we are able to root for our favorite teams and players on the featured televised broadcast games.
Football was clearly on my mind as I prepared to write the blog entry for this week and a bit of research turned out some interesting information about coaches, former football players and wines.
Morten Andersen, veteran NFL kicker was (unofficially) rewarded by his Kansas City Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil with a prized bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon for making a field goal in a crucial game. Speaking of retired coach, Dick Vermeil, he has been making his own wine for years, and has his own tasting room in Napa Valley in which he has filled with sports memorabilia, photos from his NFL career and documentation of the history of winemaking in his family over the past century.
One of the most serious winery owners among NFL alumni is former Dallas Cowboy quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe teamed up with Leonetti Cellars’ Chris Figgins to make Doubleback Cabernet in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley, where Bledsoe grew up. Former San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl champ and Hall of Famer Joe Montana created Montagia with Beringer Cabernet guru Ed Sbragia. Another former quarterback, Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins is behind Marino Estates in California.
Hall of Fame former player and coach, Mike Ditka has partnered with Mendocino Wine Company to create his own lineup of wines in Northern California. Charles Woodson, cornerback of the Green Bay Packers, upon retirement from professional football will have his own "signature" on a Cabernet from Napa Valley's Stags Leap District.
Our Red Room is the perfect venue for watching your favorite broadcast sporting event. A great place to enjoy a smoke-free environment with your friends and root for your favorite teams as you share the Mercy food and wine experience. Be sure to call ahead to make a reservation for this prized venue as it is often sought for highly anticipated events.
Go Cowboys !
Mike Castagne
Operations Manager
Football was clearly on my mind as I prepared to write the blog entry for this week and a bit of research turned out some interesting information about coaches, former football players and wines.
Morten Andersen, veteran NFL kicker was (unofficially) rewarded by his Kansas City Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil with a prized bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon for making a field goal in a crucial game. Speaking of retired coach, Dick Vermeil, he has been making his own wine for years, and has his own tasting room in Napa Valley in which he has filled with sports memorabilia, photos from his NFL career and documentation of the history of winemaking in his family over the past century.
One of the most serious winery owners among NFL alumni is former Dallas Cowboy quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe teamed up with Leonetti Cellars’ Chris Figgins to make Doubleback Cabernet in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley, where Bledsoe grew up. Former San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl champ and Hall of Famer Joe Montana created Montagia with Beringer Cabernet guru Ed Sbragia. Another former quarterback, Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins is behind Marino Estates in California.
Hall of Fame former player and coach, Mike Ditka has partnered with Mendocino Wine Company to create his own lineup of wines in Northern California. Charles Woodson, cornerback of the Green Bay Packers, upon retirement from professional football will have his own "signature" on a Cabernet from Napa Valley's Stags Leap District.
Our Red Room is the perfect venue for watching your favorite broadcast sporting event. A great place to enjoy a smoke-free environment with your friends and root for your favorite teams as you share the Mercy food and wine experience. Be sure to call ahead to make a reservation for this prized venue as it is often sought for highly anticipated events.
Go Cowboys !
Mike Castagne
Operations Manager
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Bringing it home
I just returned home to Dallas from a 3 week vacation in the south of France visiting my family. It was great to visit my family and to enjoy my mom’s fine home cooking and the good wines that accompanied our lunches and dinners. I definitely can not replicate my mom’s cooking but I did find a wine that reminds me of back home :
2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Cairanne Pierres Blanches
It has a bright red hue, expressive nose of very ripe fruit. On the palate, it is rich and full-bodied with silky tannins and good length and balance. It is still dark and tight, but with a great core of racy fig, graphite and blackberry jam notes pushed by a long, mineral- and charcoal-tinged finish.
Ripe raspberry, black cherry, dusty, loamy soil, pine forest needle, and seaweed wrapper characteristics are found in this dense, medium to full-bodied effort. Good acidity, ripe tannin, and a long finish.
Visit Mercy, taste this wine by glass for $15 or the bottle $45 and I will tell you more about my vacation in France.
Vincent Havard
General Manager and Operating Partner
2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Cairanne Pierres Blanches
It has a bright red hue, expressive nose of very ripe fruit. On the palate, it is rich and full-bodied with silky tannins and good length and balance. It is still dark and tight, but with a great core of racy fig, graphite and blackberry jam notes pushed by a long, mineral- and charcoal-tinged finish.
Ripe raspberry, black cherry, dusty, loamy soil, pine forest needle, and seaweed wrapper characteristics are found in this dense, medium to full-bodied effort. Good acidity, ripe tannin, and a long finish.
Visit Mercy, taste this wine by glass for $15 or the bottle $45 and I will tell you more about my vacation in France.
Vincent Havard
General Manager and Operating Partner
Monday, September 13, 2010
Something to Consider
I have now spent more than half of my life as a Texas resident and I have resisted all personal temptations to point out how residents in other areas of the country would do things. It is part of a personal affirmation that you make when you want to truly be a part of the local community. While I might not speak out about certain issues; there is an item currently before the voters in Dallas and Addison that is worthy of mention.
Two weeks ago, Glen Agritelley wrote in this blog about the wine and beer zoning law change that will be on the November ballot. The current statue only permits wine and beer retail sales in the Town of Addison in the small corridor on Inwood Rd up to Belt Line. The proposed change will allow wine and beer purchases at grocery and convenience stores (and Mercy as well).
Currently, Mercy is only permitted to sell wine and beer for on-premise consumption. The proposed change will allow us to also sell wine and beer "to-go". Mercy has been very fortunate to have secured some wine selections which are not available at other local establishments. The proposed change will allow us to sell wine to a new market of customers.
I grew up in an area of the country where it was common place for your local grocery, drug, or convenience store to have a selection of wines and beers for sale. You did not have to drive 30-45 minutes across town to enter a "wet area" to purchase your adult beverage. You were permitted to buy your steak and potatoes right along with the wine; a great convenience.
Some establishments would have you believe that expanding the number of outlets for beer and wine sales would lead to some level of moral decay. I currently live in Richardson. Richardson enacted the beer and wine law change some two years ago as did its adjacent neighbor, the City of Garland. The moral fiber of these communities has not diminished in the past two years. What has changed ? A visit to the store to get a six pack and a bag of chips is now a quick trip that can be done during the half time while watching football on Sunday.
Something to consider in November.
Mike Castagne
Operations Manager
Two weeks ago, Glen Agritelley wrote in this blog about the wine and beer zoning law change that will be on the November ballot. The current statue only permits wine and beer retail sales in the Town of Addison in the small corridor on Inwood Rd up to Belt Line. The proposed change will allow wine and beer purchases at grocery and convenience stores (and Mercy as well).
Currently, Mercy is only permitted to sell wine and beer for on-premise consumption. The proposed change will allow us to also sell wine and beer "to-go". Mercy has been very fortunate to have secured some wine selections which are not available at other local establishments. The proposed change will allow us to sell wine to a new market of customers.
I grew up in an area of the country where it was common place for your local grocery, drug, or convenience store to have a selection of wines and beers for sale. You did not have to drive 30-45 minutes across town to enter a "wet area" to purchase your adult beverage. You were permitted to buy your steak and potatoes right along with the wine; a great convenience.
Some establishments would have you believe that expanding the number of outlets for beer and wine sales would lead to some level of moral decay. I currently live in Richardson. Richardson enacted the beer and wine law change some two years ago as did its adjacent neighbor, the City of Garland. The moral fiber of these communities has not diminished in the past two years. What has changed ? A visit to the store to get a six pack and a bag of chips is now a quick trip that can be done during the half time while watching football on Sunday.
Something to consider in November.
Mike Castagne
Operations Manager
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Thank you Mercy
It is a time for change. I will be moving to a different city to pursue my dreams in the service industry. It’s because of working for one of the top bars in the country that I was able to be discovered.
Being employed at Mercy has been without a doubt the best working experience I have ever been a part of. I have learned more in two years at Mercy than I have the previous 15 years in this business. I owe most of what I have learned to our General Manager Vincent Havard. Not is Vincent my mentor but a great friend as well.Thank you Vincent for everything you have done for me in helping me become successful.
I also owe a great deal to our management team Glen and Mike. These men have educated me in business and taught me that it is important to take risk in this business in order to become successful. Glen once told me “If you have tried many things that have worked then you have not taken enough risk”. Trial and error is the best learning tool.Glen, Vincent and Mike are the best people I have ever worked for.Thank you for trusting me and believing in me. I wish you the best of luck in the continued success of Mercy.
I would like to thank the all the servers, bus boys, bar backs and kitchen staff past and present. It has been on honor and a pleasure working with you. We have had good times and not so good times, we have worked hard together and we have played hard together. Thank you all for making my experience a pleasant one.
Last but not least I would like to thank every guest that I have served. From all my regulars to the people who had not so good things to say about me. It is my relationship with you that has helped me become successful. My love for Mercy will always exist. I thank you all for being a part of my life, my all your dreams come true.
Best Wishes
Craig Brazeal
Being employed at Mercy has been without a doubt the best working experience I have ever been a part of. I have learned more in two years at Mercy than I have the previous 15 years in this business. I owe most of what I have learned to our General Manager Vincent Havard. Not is Vincent my mentor but a great friend as well.Thank you Vincent for everything you have done for me in helping me become successful.
I also owe a great deal to our management team Glen and Mike. These men have educated me in business and taught me that it is important to take risk in this business in order to become successful. Glen once told me “If you have tried many things that have worked then you have not taken enough risk”. Trial and error is the best learning tool.Glen, Vincent and Mike are the best people I have ever worked for.Thank you for trusting me and believing in me. I wish you the best of luck in the continued success of Mercy.
I would like to thank the all the servers, bus boys, bar backs and kitchen staff past and present. It has been on honor and a pleasure working with you. We have had good times and not so good times, we have worked hard together and we have played hard together. Thank you all for making my experience a pleasant one.
Last but not least I would like to thank every guest that I have served. From all my regulars to the people who had not so good things to say about me. It is my relationship with you that has helped me become successful. My love for Mercy will always exist. I thank you all for being a part of my life, my all your dreams come true.
Best Wishes
Craig Brazeal
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)