One of the quirks of Tennessee's old liquor regulations was that a single proprietor used to be forbidden from owning more than one retail store. So serial wine entrepreneurs like Ed Fryer tended to buy and sell stores as they experimented with new neighborhoods and concepts. Some of the places where you might have encountered the personable and knowledgeable Fryer (other than appearances as a disc jockey on Hippie Radio 94.5) include Green Hills Wine and Spirits, RED in Bellevue, the former (yn) in Green Hills, and Village Wines, a Hillsboro Village shop that he has actually owned twice, most recently selling it to Hoyt Hill in March of 1999.
Last year, Fryer opened 12th & Pine Beverage Co. in the Gulch, offering a much-needed option within walking distance of the Scene offices. Now that the TABC laws have changed, multiple shop ownership is allowed, so Fryer can finally expand his empire to more than one location. So he's decided to come home to the Village by purchasing Village Wines for the third time. The location at 2006 Belcourt Ave. was most recently the home to kind of a mess of a wine store named Hillsboro & Vine, where the shelves were organized with an obscure system of wines grouped by occasion and food pairings rather than by varietal or region. With a very limited selection of spirits, most of which were priced well above the budget of most neighborhood residents or workers, Hillsboro & Vine was pretty much limited to high-end collectors looking to shop for obscure wines.
Fryer aims to change that with his newest incarnation of Village Wines. He is in the process of stocking the store with more affordable wines, spirits, craft beers and some food items and is installing a growler filling station as well.
I happened to be walking by when I noticed the doors were open recently and discovered that he even has a few pints of Fireball on a small shelf, presumably for the convenience of Vandy students and tailgaters. I'm not one to judge ...
If you want to see what Fryer has cooking up in the new store, drop by or become a fan of his Facebook page. The new venture is still young, so don't be too disappointed if your personal favorite isn't in stock yet. But Fryer is also very open to suggestions, so be sure to tell him what you'd like to see there. Who knows? Maybe this new convenient outlet might even make the Village a little bit cooler again.
