Town Center Store Owner is All About the Wine, Food Experience

It isn't much to look at yet, but Delia Michael already has a clear vision for the space that will become Bottled of Wayland -- and that vision extends all the way to the experience she wants her customers to have.

Michael could nearly be considered a lifetime veteran of the restaurant and retail food industry. Her family has been in small business development for many years and Michael early on found her calling in cuisine.

"I've always loved food," Michael recalls standing in the unfinished shell of her Wayland Town Center store. "I started cooking in first grade, which my parents loved."

She eventually graduated from both her parents' kitchen and a culinary arts program, and over that time she developed what she considers an obvious connected fascination.

"Wine comes naturally with high-end food," Michael says. "Ultimately, it becomes a passion."

Which brings Michael to the reddish-brown storefront at Wayland Town Center where she will open Bottled of Wayland, a wine and specialty foods shop, as her first owned and operated business.

Michael, a Framingham resident, says she envisions Bottled of Wayland as the place where everyone -- no matter the price point or history with wine -- can find the perfect bottle to complement whatever is on the menu.

"We were all once pairing wine with Ramen noodles," she jokes.

Michael has a particular dedication to locally sourced items for her specialty foods and products. She expects to carry a small selection of cheeses, spreads, jams and other items that can come together to enhance the experience with a wine.

As for that wine, she is committed to smaller production, family-owned vineyards. Whatever she offers her customers, she wants it to be memorable.

"I feel like the type of society we live in, we often get away from really enjoying the food we put in our bodies," Michael says. "That one great meal should really be enjoyed with friends, with family. I feel it is my job to give you that experience every time."

Michael wants her customers to benefit from the expertise and interaction of a knowledgeable staff when they visit the store. For that reason, she expects to have some descriptive signage, but wants to rely heavily on each customer's interaction with her staff members.

"The long-term customer relationship is really important to me," says Michael. "I don't want you to feel like you've just come to another wine and beer store."

Michael explains that she's hired an "expertise" in wine, a buyer with whom she will work to secure a selection of "great, drinkable wines that complement the food." Michael wanted to hire someone to focus on the wines so that she could focus on running the business and not divide her attentions, shorting her customers a devoted interaction.

While the exact selection of wines hasn't been decided, Michael describes herself as a "seasonal" wine drinker and says her stock will reflect the "seasonality [of] wine and food."

Michael also wants to keep the store itself dynamic and has already begun talking with artists about displaying their work in Bottled of Wayland for a time, which would help keep her decor consistently evolving.

Michael is some time away from opening Bottled of Wayland, but she is already thinking ahead to offering a variety of classes and tastings because she wants "to do a lot more than sell people wine."

For one thing, Michael wants to raise the appreciation of hard ciders, which are "really underrepresented" in Massachusetts, and will also carry a small selection of craft beers, particularly high-quality, gluten-free options. Bottled of Wayland is licensed to carry wine and malt beverages, but not spirits.

"We're interested in the interaction," Michael says. "I'm here for customers who want to enjoy their wine, have a great customer service experience and maybe learn something new."

No date has yet been set for Bottled of Wayland's opening.