As you walk through the door, you are taken in by the scent of open bottles of Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc. Constant conversation and tapping glasses, interrupted only by small sips, fill the room. A long bar that stretches to the end of the room sits opposite the tables full of those wanting to experience this unique small business. “We want to be known as a place to come, gather, and see everyone’s smiling faces, whether you’re here to have a quick glass of wine or to sit down for hours with friends or by yourself to send some work emails,” said Cassidy Ginger. Cassidy owns Urban Cellar Winery. “This has been such a rewarding journey, especially because I don’t have an industry I can compare this to,” said Cassidy. Moving her business to the square in downtown Fayetteville, Cassidy has created many different ways for people to enjoy wine in this space.
As you reach the end of this tasting room, another scent arises: a line of fresh oak barrels holding the various wine choices. Next to them are the large containers holding the fermentation process that will make this wine. Something that makes Urban Cellar such a unique place is all the experiences that it offers, and one of those experiences is getting to see the winemaking process that goes on in-house. Cassidy sources her own grapes to ferment and produce her small batches of different wines. In this room, she even hosts classes to learn about and join Cassidy in making the wine. “It's like a hybrid between a wine bar and a winery,” says assistant manager Bethany Jones.
This process of becoming a certified winemaker takes months of knowledge, diligence, and patience—qualities that Cassidy possesses and ones she has shown, also, in becoming a small business owner. However, Cassidy, 24 years old at the time, had enough resilience and blessings to bypass some of the patience part of owning her own business. “If I could have told myself in college that I’d be owning a small business in Fayetteville at 24 [years old], I would have laughed in my face.”
Cassidy earned her Master's degree in business at JBU while she was working for a construction company. She said that, during this time, she was looking for opportunities that might be more fulfilling to her passions. Moving to real estate, she found a small business called the Blended Barrel that fit with one of her passions: wine. “I truly believe this was a gift God had aligned for me.” With this blessing, Cassidy began to learn more about the details of the art of making wine, as she was mentored by the previous owner in the craft and took classes out of Little Rock to earn her level 2 Wine and Spirit Education Trust. As she walks around the space of her craft, you can tell how much she has come to learn and how much she enjoys the process. She mentions how she loves that there are countless choices in crafting their house blends, and this creates a more personal, distinctive taste that is hard to replicate.
Now, after a few years, Cassidy showcases more than just her love of wine at her new location on the square, but her love of Fayetteville. Cassidy grew up in Fayetteville, and she says she has always wanted to be a part of the small businesses that make Fayetteville special. “When people come to this town, it feels like a movie because of all of the personal, neat, small businesses, and that’s how I want them to feel when they come to Urban Cellar Winery,” she said. “I want to do a unique, unforgettable experience that is fitting to Fayetteville’s small business scene.” She says that this isn’t just a place to buy a product but to enjoy wine with friends and family, to make connections, to learn something new, and to make personal gifts for those you love.
“I want to do a unique, unforgettable experience that is fitting to Fayetteville’s small business scene," said Cassidy Ginger.
“It's like a hybrid between a wine bar and a winery," said Bethany Jones.