Welcome To Lancaster’s Energy

Announcer 0:01

Entrepreneur, founder, author, and financial advisor Marc Bernstein helps high-performing business owners turn their visions into reality. Through his innovative work and the forward-focused forums, Marc connects entrepreneurs to resources that fuel their success. Founders Forum is a radio show and podcast where entrepreneurs share their journeys, revealing the lessons they've learned and the stories behind their success. Join Marc and his guests for a mix of inspiration, valuable insights, and a little fun. Now, let's dive in.

Marc Bernstein 0:34

Good morning, America. How are you? This is Founders Forum, and we're here in Lancaster, Pennsylvania today. And um there's a bit of story, but I think it'll come out through our podcast as to why we're doing this. And um we're actually featuring several shows on Lancaster PA because it's a happening place. It's not at all what I knew of Lancaster growing up in the Philadelphia area, which is not very far away. And um I've been introduced by some by our guests actually to uh by my co-hosts actually to Lancaster, and everything that's going on here is very excited. It's one of the it's always listed as one of the top places to live in America, and we're here to help tell that story. So we're gonna start with first co-host, Ray Lowe, who is the luckiest guy in the world. And anything else you want to say about yourself, Ray?

Ray Loewe 1:19

No, I I think there's nothing else that could be just more descriptive than that. And if you look at where I am, I'm surrounded by three wonderful people. That's why I'm the luckiest guy in the world. Well, okay.

Marc Bernstein 1:30

You're always the luckiest guy in the world. Ray, by the way, so we're gonna start with our topic of the day. So I'll ask Ray and then I'll introduce everyone individually. So the topic of the week, actually, two days ago, I did a podcast in Philadelphia with Joshua Funk, who happens to be CEO of TFB Catering, who happened to do a big affair last night, and it was called, what was it called, Deb?

Deborah Brandt 1:50

The Fig Emerald Celebration.

Marc Bernstein 1:52

The Fig Emerald Celebration. So Deb is a previous, so I'm jumping around now, but but uh Deb is a previous guest on the show, and she runs Fig Industries, including Fig Magazine, which is a big fixture here in Lancaster, and it was a wonderful party last night. And anyway, Josh was there. And the other day, I happened to bring up the topic of community, not thinking anything about Lancaster, just thinking about community, and he spoke about Lancaster and all the great things happening here. So, with that as our context, I'm going to ask you all the same question. When you think of community, what do you think of? So I'll start with Ray and then we'll go around the table.

Defining Community Together

Ray Loewe 2:24

Well, community to me is more important than it is for most people. Uh I relocated from uh Cherry Hill, New Jersey to Lancaster about four years ago. And when I moved here, I knew no one. Okay. And so getting out in the community and finding out what I want, you know, who I want to talk to. Uh I happen to live in a continuing care community. Uh it's a wonderful place called Willow Valley, uh, and it has a community of 2,600 people that live here. They're my new friends and neighbors. And then I happened to meet Deb Brandt a while ago, and she kind of started to introduce me into the community of Lancaster, and I'm finding out it's a place of wonderful restaurants and wonderful shops and wonderful people. And every once in a while you get a horse and buggy on the road before you, and it's not annoying, it's part of the character of the community. So this is just a great place. So that's my version of community, Marc.

Marc Bernstein 3:18

And that's so Founders Forum helped bring you into the community because that's how you met Deb Brandt. So it's kind of funny. Thanks much. So now Deb Brandt and Deb, um, thank you, Ray. Deb is way in the middle of this community, and she, as I mentioned, she's the CEO and founder of Fig Industries. Tell a little bit more about yourself if you'd like, and then let's get into the community quick.

Deborah Brandt 3:38

Thank you, Marc. It's so good to see you again and to be part of Founders Forum. Um, I own a company called Fig Industries, and we moved back. I moved back from New York City and dove into my community. So elaborating on what community means to me. It's a place that you can grow something and literally um support each other. So community is finding engagement, finding not just what makes you, you know, happy and ways to entertain yourselves, but actually how can you help your neighbors? How can you engage in your community and make it better and make it more meaningful with the work that you do?

Marc Bernstein 4:09

And I know with Fig, which is a business, a for-profit business, but you're doing that every day, I know, because you're all over the community every day.

Deborah Brandt 4:16

It is our mission to connect people to their community. So this is a perfect podcast. Thank you for having me.

Marc Bernstein 4:21

And I saw Deb running around this morning delivering her beautiful, really one of the nicest, it is the nicest city magazine I've ever seen anywhere in my travels, and I travel a lot.

Deborah Brandt 4:31

So it's been 20 years, so thank you. And I still love it. That's the best part.

Marc Bernstein 4:35

I know you do. And she she spoke last night at at the uh I'm called a gala, a cocktail party, but she she was she just um emotes excitement about it still after 20 years.

Deborah Brandt 4:46

It was a cocktail party with 500 of my closest friends.

Fig Industries And Local Connection

Marc Bernstein 4:48

That's great. I was privileged to be there, be honored to be there as well. So thank you. Um and that leads us to Justina. So Justina Latura is um founder of Vine Bar . I'm sorry. Vine Bar. Vine Bar, I'm so sorry. I I lost my I lost my sheets this morning. So anyway, I'm I'm losing my something else, it sounds like. But anyway, so um too much partying last night, I guess. Anyway, tell us about yourself, just your description of who you are, and then we'll answer that.

Justina Latura 5:17

Sure. Um, so yeah, thank you to everyone here, and thank you for to Deb for recommending me and introducing me to Marc. Um I'm co-founder, CEO of Vine Bar, and um we're I guess I like to describe us as Lancaster's Boutique Artisanal Enoteca. We're modeled after an Italian Enoteca, and um we are really here to kind of be a wine cafe, a place where you can come and learn and slow down and enjoy the fruits, the crafts of these amazing producers that we get to work one-on-one with in Italy.

Marc Bernstein 5:51

It's a really interesting um wine and wine and dine business, really. And it's um and they're organic wines, by the way, as well. Correct. Yes, they're all original.

Justina Latura 6:01

They're all they're all artisanal, they're family, you know, lots of family history in there. Um, they're all sustainably grown, farmed, biodynamic, some of them. So yeah, there's a lot of love and care and attention.

Marc Bernstein 6:15

So before we get into your story, how does community fit in? How do you fit into that definition of community?

Justina Latura 6:21

I love this question because I've been in this community. I'm not from here. I'm a transplant, I've been here for 17 years now, though, and I've gotten to see so many different aspects of it. When we first moved here, I was working as a nurse at LGH, so I was kind of part of that hospital community, which it it's a huge employer here. So um, and then I had children and I was kind of part of the wander around town, go to market with my kids community, stay-at-home mom, and then I studied to be an herbalist, worked as an herbalist, worked at Lemma Street Market, found that community, and now I'm really learning what being a business owner in the community and this the community like Lancaster, it's so fiercely loyal that supports its small business owners. It's feels really special actually to be part of that community.

Marc Bernstein 7:04

It's amazing. Yeah, we I actually was invited to the ribbon cut ribbon cutting ceremony where Deb was this morning as well for Lancaster gift box, and they're gonna be on the show eventually. And um, I I saw that last night because I ran into them. They he's he's a great salesman, Gate Gabriel, and he he he he sold me in a minute spiel as to like why I should be using all his gifts for our clients and things like that, and I'm interested. He's he's good.

Justina Latura 7:28

I'm sure he's a hundred percent right.

Marc Bernstein 7:30

But you saw you saw all the community support there this morning. It was amazing, the people that showed up to the ribbon cutting. So tell us your story. So, where did you come from to Lancaster and how did you get here and how did you arrive at this business?

Justina Latura 7:41

Very a lot of ways. I have lived a lot of places before I came here, and I was like I said, I was a nurse, so kind of travel nursing. Nursing took me to DC, took me to Arizona, and I landed here via kind of the nursing world, got a job at LGH. Um always knew I wasn't gonna stay in that world. I don't know. I So are you saying wine is healthy? For me, yes.

Marc Bernstein 8:04

I was gonna say you're you're still medicating people, you know, with better better stuff.

Deborah Brandt 8:09

Yeah, I want to hear about how you found your love of Italian wine because I share that love with you.

Justina Latura 8:14

I do. Well, and it's more than just Italian wine, it's really my love for the craft of it, this artisan these artisanal winemakers and the and the the families that we've met. I mean, really that's that's kind of my my love for it, and it's the people behind it. Of course, I love the wine and but and I love learning about it. There's been it it's been such a journey because I went from being a nurse to an herbalist with my own private practice. COVID hit. It was really I I I love connection and I love the one-on-one aspect, and and I was having to do Zoom calls and phone calls, and it was really hard. I just wasn't I didn't see that from my future as a clinical herbalist, and the wine, the wine business was a hobby.

Deborah Brandt 8:58

So I would love to just say to the audience, you've created something really special. Thank you, Doug. And it's a beautiful place for people to find community. You had crafting nights, you have um nights where people can come and learn Italian. You've created not just uh a place to come and drink wine, but you've created an experience. And I think that on a just at a global level, people are missing those connections. So thank you. Of course.

Marc Bernstein 9:26

So you you got into it. I think you met um some wine growers in Italy, correct?

Meet Vine Bar’s Founder

Justina Latura 9:31

Yes, actually, we call him Uncle Jack. It's my husband's uncle, first mom's first cousin. We call him Uncle Jack. So he's it and it's his family. He's been importing as his hobby in retirement for about 15 years into Delaware, and that was I would go to Delaware with Craig and we'd go to Jack's wine parties, wine events, and you know, it was something that was just it just I fell in love with what he was presenting, and he was presenting the stories of these artisanal small family farms. It was something that I it was something really authentic that I hadn't really connected with in the wine world yet. You know, prior to that, maybe wine was a beverage that I really loved and enjoyed, but I didn't have a connection to it, and I loved the connection that Jack was making for his community, and it just kind of started to spark something. And I was working for Lemon Street Market at the time as their health and wellness manager, and I got the opportunity to go to Minneapolis to a conference for independent natural food retailers, and I sat in on a seminar on natural wine in natural food stores, and I thought that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna get natural wine into um Lemon Street Market. And this that was really kind of the impetus impetus for it, honestly. Uh there were some other things, but we were already hobby wine lovers and hobby wine studiers and wine enthusiasts and trying, you know, sharing it with our community of family and friends.

Marc Bernstein 11:07

But just to bring everyone up to date, and then I want to turn it over to Deb, you you do more than just have a a wine a a location.

Justina Latura 11:15

Right.

Marc Bernstein 11:16

You are importers federally and PA importers, and you're also distributor, and you're also a retailer. Right. Do you want to expand on that a little bit?

Justina Latura 11:27

It just seemed like the best way to serve the winemakers that we partner with and we work directly with, they're creating this incredibly high quality product that is now is coming into our market at a little bit higher price. And so for us to make sure that they th these wines can be competitive in the PA market that's a monopoly state, we thought let's just cut out everyone. We'll cut out all the middleman, we'll just do it all ourselves.

Marc Bernstein 11:58

Right.

Justina Latura 11:58

So that's that was why that's why we do it that way, and that's how it started.

Marc Bernstein 12:03

And you're partnering with a location in Philadelphia. I understand.

Justina Latura 12:08

We happened upon a another wine enthusiast who's doing it for passion. It's not his first career, second career, third career. It's you know, it was his passion. He opened a little place just like we have. And he reached out to one of our winemakers. And then my winemaker in Italy sent me the email. He said, Why am I getting this email? Who's this guy?

Marc Bernstein 12:31

Interesting. So that yeah, so then you got into the it's a part of the distribution business.

Justina Latura 12:35

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so yeah.

Marc Bernstein 12:37

Interesting. So, Deb, um, you want to talk about entrepreneurial challenges?

Deborah Brandt 12:43

Yeah, absolutely. So I have so much respect for other small businesses because I know I know the ups and downs and the challenges and going through you know, recessions and pandemics and all of those things. So at this point in time, um, what are some of the challenges that you've faced as an entrepreneur in Lancaster but in also in general?

From Nursing To Natural Wine

Justina Latura 13:04

I think the the biggest challenge that I faced as an entrepreneur was taking a hobby and turning it into a business that makes money, that employs people. Um and I had to, I I wasn't, I wasn't in the wine business before. I wasn't a business, I was, you know, playing around with being a business owner in my private practice. Um, but yeah, to be with with a brick and mortar with employees, that was a completely that was a big jump. Um but learning the PLCB code, learning liquor law, learning accounting, learning business 101, you know, all of those things that that was probably my biggest challenge was just learning it all and and teaching myself everything. You know, it was also I'm also self-taught. I never went to business school. Um but uh I mean working as a nurse, learning that kind of autonomy, working in the ER, um, I feel like was really kind of a great launching point.

Marc Bernstein 14:05

We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back on Founders Forum.

Announcer 14:08

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Marc Bernstein 15:04

We're back on Founders Forum, and Deb, I know you have some questions for Justina, so why don't you take it away?

Deborah Brandt 15:11

I do. So we talked about challenges, and now I'd like to talk about um, you know, some of your inspirations to be able to do this or people that you know along the way that have helped you.

Justina Latura 15:24

That's that's actually an easy one because uh it it's really the the community and the and the entrepreneurs of Lancaster that really inspired me, getting to see the community that really comes together, supports, and it was working for Lemon Street Market, working for a small independent businesswoman, and then just and and getting to be in that realm and then just meeting one more business owner, meeting another business owner, meeting another business owner, and really seeing that this is a place where you can do that. I don't know that I could have started this business in any other any other place.

Deborah Brandt 16:07

Lancaster is really special for it really is, I have to say I'm a little bit biased, but you're right.

Justina Latura 16:12

I don't think we're biased.

Marc Bernstein 16:14

And I'm learning this because everybody says it, it's not just you.

Justina Latura 16:18

No, it's there's something in the air here. It's not like any other place I've lived.

Deborah Brandt 16:26

People want others to succeed, and I think that's pretty special.

Justina Latura 16:29

Yeah, yeah, very much. Um, so and then interestingly, you know, I before long before I knew Deb, long before I had this business, you know, I've been here for 17 years, but I always loved Fig magazine. I just thought it was one of the most beautiful publications and it supported small business, and I couldn't wait. I would always look through it. And um there just happened to be an article in it several years ago at the time that we were kind of turning this hobby into, you know, how what can we do with this? Can we make, you know, can we turn this into something? There happened to be an article in FIG about a wine bar, a winery, a winery that was that had a business here in Lancaster, and that was that was kind of influential for us.

Deborah Brandt 17:15

That's awesome. Yeah. Well, what a great surprise. Uh so tell me, I want to know what you're most proud of with Vine Bar and you know some of your greatest successes, or at least one.

Justina Latura 17:26

Oh gosh. Um, I think one of my one of the things I'm most proud of is the the people that have come to Vinebar too that want to work with us and learn with us and grow together with us. And I think that's one of the things I'm most proud of is that our little team is just is growing together. And um and we're we're all we're all learning this together. This there wasn't really a model for what we're doing, so everybody has just been so excited to jump in and learn what they can and help us grow. And and uh yeah, I'm I'm really proud of our team, honestly.

Importing, Distribution, And Retail Model

Deborah Brandt 18:05

Well, you you've brought Italian wines to Lancaster City in a big way, and you even helped start co-found the Italian festival nearby.

Justina Latura 18:14

Yeah, well, the La Piazza portion of it, the the wine garden. Yeah.

Marc Bernstein 18:19

Wait, when is that? I want to come. Plus, I want to listen to it. So it's in November. Okay. Gotcha.

Justina Latura 18:28

Yeah, so we got to join the last two years. And how many people did you bring this year? We estimate around 20,000 people.

Marc Bernstein 18:34

Wow. It was you know about this, Ray? Pretty amazing. Italian festival. I do now. You do. There you go. Yeah. There you go.

Justina Latura 18:40

I know. Bring in Willow Valley. Yes. Oh my goodness. We'll have to talk to you about that.

Marc Bernstein 18:45

I want to ask you, Justine, about um this the show is all about forward movement, looking into the future, and uh future vision. So if this were if we're having the same conversation and it's three years from now, so it's November late November 2028, what would have to happen over that three-year period for you to feel that was a successful period in your business and your life?

Justina Latura 19:09

A lot of things. We have a big plans. I mean, one of the things that we are focused on is growth, and we've grown very, very quickly in year two. Um, I think coming into this business as an entrepreneur and starting this in my 40s, you know, we would love to grow it as quickly as we can. And so we work a lot and we and we have been able to do that. So we still have a lot of amazing uh goals. Uh we would like to open three more locations in Pennsylvania. Um we our our goal is to get a wine club going with so either locally, well, both locally and statewide distribution of our these really unique uh varietals, uh small family farms, and um and then to partner with Lemon Street. That's still that's still our goal. That was what started this. Um and so that's still our goal. So part going in together to have uh a bottle shop and this natural food store all in one place, that's that's definitely one of our biggest goals for the next three years.

Marc Bernstein 20:18

You also mentioned your hours working.

Justina Latura 20:20

You're you would Oh yes. I would eventually love to work less than 80 hours a week.

Marc Bernstein 20:27

She wants to work half a week. Oh yeah. Um Yeah, and you talked about and also I know you you're looking at profitability and I know you want to maintain high standards and we do.

Justina Latura 20:42

I mean, I think one of the things I told you, Mark, when we first talked was that one of my goals over the next three years is is to kind of is to keep our team together and and grow together and really not have any turnover. At least, you know, involuntary. Um one of the things we focused on from the beginning was uh educating our staff and our community about wine, about Italian wine, about you know, all things wine. We do classes every month, we do multiple classes every month. We Bailey and I have uh written the curriculum for an eight-month series. Um all of our staff are wine educated through WSET. And so we just that's one of our focuses is to all rise up together in this.

Marc Bernstein 21:31

Gotcha. By the by the way, you've mentioned Lemon Street a couple times. We didn't mention that what you were doing there because you're an herbalist too. We were talking about that last night a little bit.

Justina Latura 21:41

Yeah, I um it was all it's always been a passion, it's always been something I I practiced even when I was working as a nurse. Um so I just I decided to formal formally, informally study it m you know, with more with medicine men and women versus uh through school. Um and so yeah, I was working at Lemon Street Market as an herbalist, as the health and wellness manager, and that's kind of what's also initiated my private practice as an herbalist.

Marc Bernstein 22:10

You're still doing that too?

Justina Latura 22:12

I had to give up something to launch Fine Bar. I I mean once an herbalist, always an herbalist. That's how I take care of my family and my community.

Entrepreneurial Challenges And Learning Curve

Marc Bernstein 22:21

Dad, we were comparing notes about how many supplements we take in that together. It would be like a couple pockets full, I think, if you added them up per day. Yeah. So interesting. Also you I know you studied in in um Ecuador at one point.

Justina Latura 22:38

I did.

Marc Bernstein 22:38

And you speak I think pretty good Spanish, right?

Justina Latura 22:41

Yeah, I I went there when I was 17 actually and I uh spent my senior year in Ecuador as an exchange student became fluent in Spanish. Also had the opportunity to study in Austria and got to learn German there and learned Italian um so I can speak with our winemakers.

Marc Bernstein 23:02

So right and your Italian's gotten is kind of advanced at this point.

Justina Latura 23:08

I mean I I was really proud of myself and had this great aha moment when we were just there last month I had a high level conversation about dreams and hopes and visions with one of our winemakers and I thought wow I've done it that's awesome. This was my goal.

Marc Bernstein 23:25

By the way I just I don't want people to forget so if you're in Lancaster make sure you check out Vine Bar and also in Philadelphia it's Calendrino's Calandrino's old city V No.

Justina Latura 23:36

Yep at 12th second and Arch and you are at 237 North Prince Street in in Lancaster Pennsylvania.

Marc Bernstein 23:46

Deb, did you have any any other things that you're thinking about?

Deborah Brandt 23:49

Wow we we covered a lot we covered a lot we do. Justina is there anything else that you wanted to talk about today I I'm going to ask you some questions.

Marc Bernstein 23:59

Okay. Do you are you a reader?

Justina Latura 24:01

Yes.

Marc Bernstein 24:02

And what what are there books that have influenced you in terms of becoming an entrepreneur or in terms of the things that you're doing today?

Justina Latura 24:10

Yeah and they're wine books actually. Okay good what's your favorite wine book you could recommend to or what I feel like I'm going to butcher the name but I oh it's by Raj Parr and it's his book on it's something about some something Saint Marlier. I actually don't remember the name of it but that book was so influential I when I read through that I was I wanted to try every wine that he described in it.

Marc Bernstein 24:38

By the way do you know anything about Sardinian wines? I do in fact we have a new Sardinian producer that we're bringing on we gotta talk okay because I love red wine I can't drink most of it because I get all congested and my wife too both of us really can't drink red wine except Sardinian wine.

Justina Latura 24:55

Someone told us about that can I let you in on a an industry secret?

Marc Bernstein 24:59

Yes.

Sponsor Break

Justina Latura 25:00

Please there are 76 Nobody else is listening to you right there are 76 USDA approved additives in US wine so uh what what we've noticed at Vine Bar is that you know when we're we serve low intervention wine there's nothing added there's nothing removed during the winemaking process and so we get all these customers that come in and say I can't drink this and I can't drink that and then they drink our wine and they say I didn't think I couldn't think I could yeah so I have to stop by to Mark I will vouch for that.

Deborah Brandt 25:33

Yeah I can only drink Italian wine now.

Marc Bernstein 25:35

Is that right? It's true. Well organic Italian wine because I we drink lots of Italian wines and it doesn't always work.

Deborah Brandt 25:43

I can drink vine bar wine.

Marc Bernstein 25:46

That's great. Well I'm gonna make a stop before I leave town today. We're gonna tell we're gonna test this theory. Yes although I have to wait another 15 days tell them off my whole 30 but anyway that's a whole nother story. That's a you thing so we we only have about a minute left tell me your what what what do you do for fun in Lancaster? What kind of things what are your favorite things to do?

Justina Latura 26:06

I love strolling the city I love looking at the houses and the the architecture and finding an alley that I haven't been down before which I can still do in 17 years.

Marc Bernstein 26:17

It is a very interesting city I've just started walking it a bit and it's really interesting. And how about when you're in Italy what are your favorite things to do I love to do the exact same thing.

Justina Latura 26:28

I love strolling the cities and looking at the architecture and taking it all in.

Community Support And Inspiration

Marc Bernstein 26:34

Oh it is a good way to get to know places and people that to me I'm always running into people when I do that so we are just about it out of time and it's been wonderful to have you here. I know you were a little you know slightly nervous about it right yeah this is the first time I've done this well you did a great job and you said it all Deb thank you you're a wonderful co-host thank you and uh thank you all for listening and we'll see you next week on Founders Forum and thank you Ray Lowe and Ellen Haas I forgot for engineering.

Announcer 27:04

Thank you both have a great day we'll talk to you soon we hope you enjoyed your time with Founders Forum and that you found value to take with you throughout your day. Join us again next week for another episode of Founders Forum on WXKB 1039HD2.