Annebeth’s Stays the Course in a Changing Annapolis

Some say in the packaged-goods business, the one constant is change. And how those people who operate in this sector react to change dictates whether they will succeed or fail. Annebeth Bunker Santin, owner of Annebeth’s wine and beer store in the historic district of downtown Annapolis, knows change all too well.

When she first opened her small shop in October of 1998, it catered to people who wanted to get good food and even better movies.

“We started out with specialty foods and then film rentals,” she stated, during a recent interview with the Beverage Journal.  “Then, within the first year, we had obtained our wine and beer license.  So, then we tried to gear the business towards getting our customers to come in for their movie rental, their bottle of wine, their cheese and salami for the night.  We initially catered to the date-night crowd, those planning a night at home.”

In the years since, however, such things as Netflix, Redbox, and video-on-demand have become the preferred method of renting a movie at home.  So, Santin had to change.  Oh, she still loves her “date-nighters.”  But now Annebeth’s is so much more to so many more.  “Half of our store was video rentals when I first started,” she recalled.  “But that definitely has diminished.  We still have a very small selection of movies for some of our locals, but otherwise it’s evolved in the last couple of years.  Bringing in the Wines Under Nine two years ago has been perhaps our biggest success at meeting customers’ needs.”

Indeed, responding to changing economic conditions, Annebeth’s dedicated a section of the store to feature only bottles of wines priced under $9.  That was 2008.  Flash forward two years later, and it’s the part of the shop that many people flock to first.  “They are all good-quality, good-value wines from all over,” she noted.  “We have wines under $9 from South Africa, from Argentina, and definitely some from Australia. I feel customers should drink what they like, whether it be a $5 bottle of wine or a $50 bottle of wine.  Here, we have both.”

More recently, Annebeth’s has benefited from having obtained an in-store tastings license.  Santin stated, “We hold tastings twice a week now.  Sometimes we get beverage industry reps to come in and show off their wares.  Other times, I just do it myself.  I love asking customers if they want to try a certain thing, then taking the bottle down off the shelf and popping it open for them.”

She continued, “The tastings are so new.  It’s only been a month since we started them [this interview was conducted in early June], and they have been going really well.  We do them on each Hump Day, Wednesdays, to get our customers kind of thinking about the weekend.  And then we do our second tastings for the week on Fridays when the customers are actually starting their weekend and are ready to play.”

Among the challenges she and her staff face on a daily basis is location.  Annebeth’s is located on Maryland Avenue in Annapolis, a street that certainly radiates off of State Circle but is not the main drag in town.  “We are definitely a little hidden away, which is nice but it is also one of our challenges, too.  Getting people to find us over here has been tricky and remains so.  I would say that the majority of our customers are locals who live within a two-mile radius.  They’ll pop in for a snack or a bottle of wine or a case of wine.  We also get our fair share of tourists who are in town for the weekend, and we get state workers in the afternoon and evening just [clocking out for the day].  When classes are going on, we’ll get some students, too.  It varies.”

Because Annebeth’s is somewhat off the proverbial beaten path, Santin has had to be both aggressive and creative in marketing her business to her desired clientele.  “We use the Annapolis Visitors Bureau,” she said, “which seems to be working well.  They have a lot of resources that are great.  We also participate in local festivals three to four times a year on the avenue, which brings great exposure to us and really everyone.  I do a little bit of print advertising here and there, but that’s so hard to gauge.  And the ads can be expensive.  I’ve also used some local radio, too.”

She has also crafted a presence online, setting up a page on Facebook to update customers who have become “fans.”  A recent update on the page stated simply: “Popping open some Spanish sangria, ready to drink at 3 o'clock Eastern Standard Time. Be there!”  A couple of days before that, the update read: “Today from 3-5:30pm, Sally from St. Michael's Winery will be here sampling out some fun, fresh, and LOCAL wines.”

Currently, craft beers are among her hottest selling products.  “It’s actually been that way from the very beginning of this store.  I always wanted to do mix-and-match six-packs, and they indeed remain popular.  Even though I’m not a beer person myself, I see what a thrill it is for people to be able to come in and choose six different types of beer whether it be a pale ale or a stout or whatever from all over the place.  We have craft beers from Lebanon to Brazil to Vermont -- beers you just don’t see everyday.”

Maryland wines are another popular offering Annebeth’s keeps on the shelves.  “We carry  about five different Maryland vineyards at all times.  We’re such a small store.  We only have about 600 square feet.  So, we’re a bit limited.  But definitely when customers come in and request something, we will try our best immediately to get it on the shelf within a week.  Then, we’ll rotate and switch it out.”

Santin and her staff also design gift food baskets that also can include beer and wine, ranging from $20 to $200.  She even offers free delivery in the downtown Annapolis area.  In addition, the store allows customers to mix and match a case of a dozen bottles from its Wine Under Nine section for $89.99.

Santin’s early background was actually in the food business.  She attended culinary school back in the 1980s.  “But after working in both the front of the house and the back of the house,” she said, “I just decided I was definitely not a restaurant person.  Still, I wanted to stay within the food business, and I loved the idea of doing this.”

Because she enjoys what she does so much, she is fiercely protective when she senses that her business is at risk.  The latest threat has come from the City of Annapolis and its efforts to increase licensing fees 54 percent following a 30 percent hike in 2008.  She, along with a consortium of other small stores in the downtown area, has worked hard in trying to get the city and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC) to review these increases.

Santin added, “We would also like to see an adjustment in their fee structure that currently has the same fee whether you have a store measuring 500 square feet or 5,000 square feet... It is still an issue.  They haven’t done anything to repeal the increase for this year, and we are working on them changing it for 2011.  The mayor appointed a group of citizens to see if it seems fair or not.  They definitely seem in agreement that there is something off about how they figured out the fee structure, especially compared to the county.  I mean, my store is 600 square feet and pays the same as a store with 5,000 square feet?  That just seems ludicrous to me.  This is definitely the biggest issue facing people like me right now.”

Ever civic minded, Santin devotes some of her free time to being involved with Food Link of Maryland, an Anne Arundel County-based organization that provides food to the needy.  Food Link not only helps supply local food banks and pantries, it also feeds the Annapolis-area hungry every Friday at the Farmer's Market off of Riva Road. “I do some administrative stuff with them,” she stated.

Having been in the business for over a decade now, Santin has learned many valuable business lessons that she has no problem sharing with the readers of the Beverage Journal.  “Early on,” she stated, “the biggest thing I had to learn was the accounting.  That definitely was an expensive beginning, learning the ropes on that.  Now, I do the day-to-day accounting and bookkeeping.  But for the year, I pass [the numbers] all over to my accountant.”

She concluded, “I think the most important thing is to run your business with integrity.  And, certainly, do your best to listen to your customers as much as possible. As the boss, you should also be prepared to have to do a little bit of everything.  Over the years, I’ve found I have had to be a woman of many ‘little talents.’  I wouldn’t say I am great at most of them [laughing slightly], but I definitely know how to multi-task.  You should also stay open to change.”