Vinic Wine to close its doors

After 13 years of serving downtown Evanston, Vinic Wine will be closing this spring. Owner Sandeep Ghaey said the decision wasn’t an easy one, but given COVID-19, competition and the supply chain, things were too uncertain to continue business.

“We really enjoy being part of the community and tried to be very active in the non-profit sector and support Evanston as much as we could,” Ghaey said. “But we couldn’t seem to make it work anymore and with different pressures, we decided not to continue the lease.”

Ghaey has worked in the wine business since college and decided to open Vinic to sell products he “believed in.”

“I wanted to sell people wines I knew were delicious,” he said.

Vinic was the first independent wine shop in Evanston. But over a decade later, it is now competing with many others in the area.

“More and more the wine world is becoming more expensive, and the model of wine-making is expensive, too,” Ghaey said. “Prices are increasing and [new wines] are more commercially made.”

Vinic has close to 2,000 items left in its inventory and will offer discounts until its doors officially close at the end of March. Ghaey said COVID-19 has added “too much uncertainty” to his business but he is open to a future of Vinic without the storefront.

While it is not a concrete plan at the moment, Ghaey said, he would like to do events or a delivery model and web-based presence in the future, opting for a pop-up experience rather than a retail store. As of now, Ghaey said it is too difficult to make future plans while Vinic is still operating in its original form.

Ghaey said he hopes Evanston residents will come out and support Vinic for the last time. “It’s definitely going to be bittersweet.”