Tales of the demise of my legal career are spreading and feel a touch premature!  Lawyer Gives Up Legal Career to Open Up Wine Bar

I don’t say that because I worry about whether Slate will be successful and I need my legal job as a fall-back, but instead because I have a very gratifying legal career.  I’m not sure that I am done, just that Slate needs my attention right now.  I’m going to keep paying my bar dues!  Just think future Slate customers:  your confidences to your bartender could be attorney-client confidential!  (subject to a lot of fine print, of course)

I also don’t feel that I really have to choose, because of the amazing experience I’ve had at ZwillGen PLLC.  Not only is it an amazing group of people, but the firm has given me the opportunity to continue the legal work I fell in love with at Yahoo! and to seriously pursue a career in wine.  [Not to mention that they have also been guinea pigs, cheerleaders, and wise counselors! And,incidentally, they are hiring (www.zwillgen.com)]  The law seems to be all-consuming for so many people who practice it.  It is no wonder so many lawyers have second careers.  I don’t think it has to be so black and white, on or off, law or not law… but it takes a special place and certain amount of discipline to juggle two careers at once.

From the wine certification programs, travel, personal educational efforts, tasting events, networking and researching to the part-time jobs in a wine shop and a winery tasting room, my preparation for Slate has been going on at varying level of intensity for ten plus years.  It’s been a solid year working to make Slate happen.  A wine bar may seem like a totally different thing from internet security and privacy, but I have approached this just like I do any legal project– it’s been researched, risks identified and mitigated, plans in place, contingency plans in place, etc. and now the plan is being executed (with the romance of wine and the chaos of the restaurant industry thrown in).

So Slate is where you have the best chance of tracking me down, but I’m not sure I could stop being a lawyer if I tried!  Just ask Mark and Noah @Slatewinebar!

Elizabeth

It was just Tuesday, July 10th, that we received keys to our new space at 2404 Wisconsin Avenue and announced our upcoming opening in Glover Park.  Since then, we have been extremely busy but have made amazing progress on our ambitious goal of opening in mid-August.  There hasn’t been much time to reflect, but there are some obvious themes from the first few days.

First, everything we thought about what a great location Glover Park would be for our wine bar has been confirmed.  The neighborhood has been very welcoming and enthusiastic.  We hear a good glass of wine is much needed and that people are interested in more dining options, particularly vegetarian and vegan options.  We love hearing the feedback!

Second, there is still room for a new wine bar in DC.  We are getting lots of positive feedback on our concept and excitement about our opening is growing.  We’ve had coverage by Hyperlocalgp, Prince of Petworth, Eater DC, Georgetown Patch and more will be coming next week.

Third, this is extremely hard work but it is extraordinarily rewarding to see what a team of dedicated people with a shared vision can accomplish in a few short days.  Thanks to employee number two Noah Naft; investors Jon Berroya, Tom Jennings, and Aida Middel; and friends of Slate, including JC Lopez, for the support and dedication.

We’ve made huge progress — from getting new accounts and utilities set up; arranging repairs, inspections, and other key work to the building; getting an office up and running, and scheduling next week to start working on selecting foods, wines, beers and spirits.

It is still early to predict our open date, but we will keep you posted (when we have a few minutes to pick up our heads up from our tasks and communicate with the outside world).

Thanks for all the notes of welcome and encouragement!  We can’t wait to open our doors!

Best,

Mark & Elizabeth

Slate Wine Bar + Bistro will be hiring for a wide-range of positions. We are particularly looking for bartenders and servers with a good knowledge of wine and/or a strong interest in learning. You can apply by sending your resume to mark@slatewinebar.com.