Did you know that the Cherry Republic has an extensive in-house wine selection? If you didn’t know that, you certainly will once you walk into their Ann Arbor location at the corner of Main and Liberty and realize that it has doubled in size.
“It’s beautiful and very inviting,” Arbor resident Bridget Mahoney said while shopping with her family.
Cherry Republic is a Glen Arbor-based company that embodies Michigan just as much as Ford or GM does, but it does so in taking Michigan’s most famous agricultural export, cherries, and turning them into just about everything.
It is a one stop shop for chocolate covered cherries, cherry infused salsa, cherry jelly, cherry BBQ sauce, and Michigan-grown wine. The hair salon that once separated the corner location from the Vault of Midnight is gone, replaced by an exposed-brick space dominated by a sturdy-feeling counter and an extensive wine selection where you can get free samples before purchasing.
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This expansion has only been open for a few weeks, following a lengthy expansion process. Store manager Rita Dudek said that most of her customers knew of Cherry Republic’s wine selection before the expansion, but do not realize just how big it is until they see the new bar. There are in fact 16 wines on offer, ranging from cherry reds, to sparking cherry wines; all of which use Michigan-grown cherries, according to the company.
“People usually walk in and go ‘oh my God, that’s so pretty.’ ‘Beautiful’ is the first comment,” Fina Suboski, a recent U of M graduate making her living introducing wines from behind the bar, explained. “I think generally our wines lean on the sweet side. But every time I’ve had people come in who prefer dry wines, they find some wines that they really like. We have at least five for them to try.”
Prices range from $18 to $28. At the moment, Cherry Republic only ships, via FedEx, wine to Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Illinois and Texas.
And you don’t have to be into wine to enjoy the new expansion. Quite apart from there being roughly twice as much floor space for other products, the wine counter also has offers for children and non-alcohol drinking adults, in pop and four types of slushies. Cherry-infused cheeses and sausages are also available.
Dudek explained that once Cherry Republic noticed that their longtime neighbor was winding down their business, they seized on the rare opportunity to expand their footprint “for the customer, to give them more space to shop around. We have expanded our product line at that point, and we really wanted to have the full wine experience for our customers, to be able to serve them our wine tasting at this location.”
The expansion has allowed Cherry Republic to add five new staffers, although there are only three full time staff members’ total.
They are currently looking to hire another 10 or so part timers for the holiday season. Pay ranges from $15 to $15.50 per hour.
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
