A new wine shop and neighbourhood bar is set to open within weeks in Gateshead's Bridges Quarter, in a major career switch for its founder.
Chartered accountant Charlotte Fenwick is swapping finances for fine wines to launch Victor Indigo November, the latest small business to open in the converted railway arches in Gateshead.
Victor Indigo November (VIN) is currently taking shape at 12 High Level Parade in Wellington Street, where Charlotte and her wife Lorrie are creating a drinks business with a difference, operating as a wine shop by day and neighbourhood bar by night. The pair have used personal funds and also secured support from Transmit Startups in Gateshead, the national delivery partner of the British Business Bank for Start Up Loans, to help get their venture off the ground.
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They are carrying out most of the work themselves, with Lorrie using her construction career skills as a plasterer to convert the empty shell of the arch. The couple intend to open in March opening from Wednesday to Sunday with opening hours set to be finalised running the business themselves to start with and hopefully taking on staff in the future.
Charlotte said: “The idea is that it will be a wine shop by day and neighbourhood wine bar by night, but anticipate there will be a crossover – if people want to have a drink in the afternoon, or buy a bottle of wine at 6pm we won’t turn anyone anyway. We’re trying to create a space where people can learn about wine. Often with wine, it can be quite intimidating and people drink the same styles of wine. We’ll have curated wine flights, taster nights, food matching tips – we just want it to be a place where wine is fun, informal and accessible.
“There’ll be a heavy influence from France and we’ll have the ones you’ll have heard of to lesser known wines, hidden gems. We’ll have plenty of choice wines from the rest of the world too.
“The great thing about the railway arches is that it gives the best of both worlds – you’re effectively in the city centre but also in a thriving neighbourhood, so can be part of that community space. Wellington Street is becoming an exciting community of small businesses and the support we’ve had from residents, other business owners and people who work in the area is fantastic. It feels like an opportunity to make that part of the city centre a destination.”
After qualifying as a chartered accountant with RSM, Charlotte spent a number of years as a finance business partner with organisations at local and national level, but after taking wine qualifications as a hobby she decided to pursue it as a vocation. Victor Indigo November represents the realisation of an entrepreneurial dream, brought to fruition following the death of her brother Daniel.
Charlotte said: “At the end of 2021 my older brother died very suddenly. He was 33 and it was devastating. I knew then that this future we’ll all working for, it’s not guaranteed. I just wanted to start living for today. It took me a few months to get my breath back but then I started seriously looking for a location. As soon as I saw the arches I knew that’s the one – I’m so passionate about the location, I knew this was the place I should be.”
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