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| VinElla is the brainchild of Judye Allman, Payroll Director for Schnitzer Northwest LLC of Bellevue, WA, and Steve Body, wine columnist, writer and former steward at Esquin Wine Merchants of Seattle and Town & Country Markets. The original idea came from Judye's son-in-law, Brian Meyers, who, with wife Shannon Allman Meyers, provided major help and support in the planning and building of our retail shop. The entire process of opening VinElla took nearly 18 months, starting in the late summer of 2003 and culminating in our opening day, September 19th, 2005. Our name emerged from a list of nearly 100 possibilities. "Vin" is French for "wine", and "Ella" is our granddaughter, Brian and Shannon's darlin' Ella.
At present, Judye runs all financial operations of the company. Steve runs daily operations, sales and wine / beer purchasing. Shannon handles advertising and marketing and Brian runs our IT operations. Shannon and Steve administer and manage this website. A great deal of our physical layout, including our beautiful hardwood floor was built by Judye's son, Chris Allman, of Metropolitan Floors and Puget Sound Hardwoods. Chris has also turned into a wonderful advocate for the shop in the course of his travels around the Sound. Judye's daughter Naomi Allman has become an invaluable part of our wines sales team, a tireless and enthusiastic wine buff who communicates her passion for wine to everyone she meets. And daughter-in-law A Lowery has also become a capable and very willing salesperson, even hosting wine events at their home near Tacoma! If you come in to visit us at VinElla, you'll see our wall of family photos. VinElla is a family business and we're very proud of all our children and grandchildren. VinElla would not have been possible without them. |
