Q. Rebecca, did you always see yourself as an entrepreneur?
A. No! I spent 20+ years in Corporate America in Finance and Accounting roles in NYC and Philadelphia. A manager I once had did used to tell me that I was the only entrepreneur in the company at that time, though, as I was always thinking of new ideas and solutions outside of often bureaucratic, corporate red tape!
Q. So, how did all of these great entrepreneurial efforts of yours come about then?
A. I retired in 2006 and then the meltdown of 2008 happened. My father advised my brothers and I that if we were smart, we would begin buying real estate in Naples. We took his advice and starting buying, renovating, and flipping homes. I then came across the opportunity to buy the property that Three60 Market sat on. The initial plan was to buy and flip that property, but instead I saw a fit for a cafe there, built it in 2010, and opened it in 2012. Over time, it became a fan favorite in the Bayshore area. The Botanical Gardens would often send patrons there for lunch following visits to theirs. It became a notable in an up and coming area.
Once the Botanical Gardens decided to open a restaurant inside their property, I knew I had to address that immediately. This gave me the idea for Three60 Wines, that would be sold from the Market initially. We positioned it on 2 main aspects: 1) we wanted to give people the opportunity to try wines they hadn't before, and 2) we wanted to provide our customers with great value. We did this via supply relationships and pricing strategy whereby we only marked up our wines $3.60. When we could provide people with these things, even more so than a Total Wine or ABC, we knew we were giving people something to talk about.
From there, I had the opportunity presented to buy land across the canal. Given the land size limitations, and in wanting to provide our community with something completely different at the time, I ideated our food truck and bar destination: Celebration Park. I had never even been to a food truck park in my life, but I wanted to provide customers with something that wasn't vanilla or the same old in these parts, where they could experience different flavors and cuisines, live music, and in a fun and casual environment.
This laid the framework for then wanting to provide a more upscale F&B option across the street. Rebecca's on the front side of the street is a wine and food bar (which now carries Three60 Wines!) open to the public, and The Maddox is our private members club accessible around the back side.
Q. Tell us about the private members concept. Many have followed you in this approach since.
A. We have many opportunities for golf & tennis clubs here in our area. Not everyone enjoys those sports, but they do want the socialization elements. Most people in our club enjoy cooking classes, wine tasting, fine dining, live music, educational sessions, theatre, etc. We try to bring these elements to them and have fun in an upscale, yet relaxing, environment.
Q. With all of these businesses, do you find any time to relax?
A. I actually enjoy the challenge of it all and working 80 hours per week to make it happen. However, my very supportive spouse and I also enjoy traveling immensely. We will be taking some time soon to explore Bordeaux, Scandinavia, and Argentina later this year - we can't wait!
Don't take yourself or things in life too seriously. Deal with every day as it comes, go home make a nice martini, and do it all over again trying to improve these 3 things: 1) yourself, 2) your business, and 3) your most important relationships.