Husband and wife team to open new wine shop next week

The Wine Bank will open on February 5 and is owned by husband-and-wife business duo Debbie and Michael Watts.

This will be the pair’s second venture as they also own Solent Mobility Centre.

The couples’ sons have taken over as directors at the firm, which means that Debbie and Michael can focus on their new enterprise.

Councillor Graham Burgess will be at the opening event to cut the ribbon and greet residents.

Michael said: ‘Now that our son’s Jamie and Ben are directors of Solent Mobility, this has allowed us to plan our next business venture.’

Despite running The Wine Bank, Michael said that he and his wife would still be involved with Solent Mobility.

‘We will still be involved and are extremely proud of the business and its success.

‘We wanted to do something a little different and, having been part of the business community in Lee, we thought a wine store would be a great enhancement to the array of independent shops already available.’

Faced with the option to retire, Debbie said that the couple were not ready to put their feet up just yet.

She added: ‘We are not ready to take a back seat and retire just yet, as we still have ideas and drive to try something new.

‘It really is a great time to be in business and we are both really excited about the new shop and look forward to welcoming people through the door and developing the business to suit our customers.

‘Our passion is our customer service and we want to give our customers what they want.

‘There’ll be wine-tasting events, gin events and perhaps we can work with local restaurants too. There are so many opportunities to explore.’