SALISBURY — The Blue Vine, the wine shop that downtown helped save after one of the owners died last year, will serve its last glass of Pinot Noir and host its final band this weekend.
Co-owner Rose Meeks Jones announced Tuesday that she will close the business at 209 S. Main St. on Saturday after a “last hurrah party” Friday night. Meeks Jones lost her husband Chris Jones in October 2012 after he suffered heart failure and spent 30 days in the critical care unit at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Fellow downtown merchants and friends pitched in to run the shop while Chris was hospitalized and Rose was by his side. The shop missed only one day of business, and friends also organized a fundraiser to help cover medical expenses.
Salisbury stepped up, Rose said.
“You wrapped your arms about us and hugged tight. You gave of your time, your love and even your money to keep us going through the worst time of our lives,” she wrote in the announcement. “I have not, nor ever will I forget what this wonderful town did for us. I am so very thankful for you all.”
Rose said she tried to forge ahead alone, but the loss of her husband and business partner was too much to overcome in the current economic environment.
“Long hours, scant financial resources and health concerns have forced me to accept that I just cannot continue on as I have been,” she said. “… Therefore, I have decided to bring this chapter of my life to a close.”
The Blue Vine filled a niche in the community, and the couple loved making wine accessible and “stripping the intimidation factor away, showing folks that wine can be enjoyed with anything one can cook at home — from baked spaghetti to prime rib and everything in between,” Rose said.
Founded in 2006, the wine shop became a popular venue for live music and featured musicians from all over the country, as well as from Rowan County. Rose said she and Chris loved running a shop where they knew their customers by name and gathered with them around the bar — “our proverbial kitchen table” — to laugh, sing and cry together.
Classic rock band Motel Soap will play the last show Friday night. Rose is selling everything in the shop and will be open from noon to 6 p.m. today and Wednesday, noon to midnight Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday for purchase pick-up and additional sales.
Rose said she has no immediate plans for her life after the Blue Vine, “but I am hopeful and looking forward.”
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.