Sunny Slope General Store expands with winery addition
A fixture in the region since 1979, with roots stretching back to 1927, Sunny Slope General Store has seen major changes and upgrades since least year, when the business passed from one generation to the next.
“Tom and Karen Bright were born here,” said Tara Bright, their daughter-in-law. “They lived in Alaska for about 15 years, then returned to Holmes County and bought the business in 1979.”
Tara Bright said the place was a simple general store and gas station for many years, until the gasoline portion of the business became too unprofitable at a small scale and was discontinued. “There was a time when it was sort of everything. Car parts and deli,” she said. “But it was a successful fixture for more than 30 years.”
Tara Bright’s husband, also named Tom, worked at the store alongside his parents from childhood. “Aside from college, this was where he worked,” Tara Bright said. “And we knew one day we would take over the business, we just weren’t sure when that might happen.” Family health issues accelerated the process in 2016.
Since taking on Sunny Slope themselves, the younger Brights began asking themselves what they could do to bring the business up to the level of potential they felt was there.
“My husband had been making wine as a hobby for some time, and the more wine he made, the more he enjoyed doing it and it became a very serious pursuit. He entered some competitions and did well, and received some genuine encouragement.”
And so Sunny Slope General Store and Winery kicks off with wine tastings June 23. “We’ve been working toward that for most of a year,” Tara Bright said, “with getting the licensing and preparing for the launch.”
Extensive renovations to the building have brought more space, many upgrades and new bathrooms.
Sunny Slope General Store and Winery will offer made-to-order sandwiches, pre-made sandwiches, panini, and picnic boxes for two or four people with meats, cheeses, crackers and hummus.
The area around the store has been expanded with picnic areas and space for live music, planned for the summer every weekend. “We’re planning to host food truck events as well,” said Tara Bright.
Wines are both sweet and dry, with a signature bottle called Squall Valley Lovers, named for the place at which Tom and Tara Bright met.
The past year’s flurry of activity has brought many challenges and the kind of stresses one would expect as a business makes the tradition from one business model to another. In addition to putting together a newly-made store and winery, the couple are looking forward to the birth of their fourth child later this year. Looking back, it has been a year which Tara Bright described as “epic.”
Sunny Slope General Store and Winery hours are Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.. No wine sales are available on Sundays. The store and winery are at 12251 State Rt 39 in Big Prairie.