Today we’d like to introduce you to Madeline Ott.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Late Air was developed much like many of our ideas, around our kitchen table. My husband and I were living in Virginia Beach at the time, which is home for us, and decided we were ready to make this concept a reality.
I’ve always had one foot in the world of hospitality and one foot in the world of art. It wasn’t until after I graduated from SCAD in 2018 that I dived headfirst into hospitality as a career. Our experiences and cities in which we moved to, exposed us to so many different types of restaurants and cafes, and we took a little inspiration from everything we loved to put into Late Air.
We lived in Los Angeles after our time in Savannah and lived next to Silver Lake Wine, where we began to learn about the world of low intervention (or natural) wine. From there, we went to Nashville where I worked at Lou Nashville, as a part of their opening front-of-house team. I learned so much from that experience, not only about wine and food but about running a business.
Mailea Wegner is the chef and owner of Lou and they have a devout natural wine program. The sommelier there at the time, Tony Aquilina, was so giving with his time and knowledge. There were no dumb questions, people were encouraged to speak freely about what they were tasting and seeing within the wine, even if it wasn’t the verbiage used by many of the sommelier institutions that have been controlling the wine world for so long.
When Covid-19 hit, we ended up spending a lot of time back in Virginia Beach with our family – it also gave us time to think about what we really wanted to do with our lives. We decided we were going to move back to Virginia Beach and pursue opening up a bottle shop down at the oceanfront.
Upon moving back one of my husband’s friends presented us with an opportunity to help consult with his wine program at his restaurant. One thing led to another and we ended up working at the restaurant full time, I worked as the general manager and my husband as the wine director. We both are so grateful for that experience, it showed us what it takes to run a business and all the behind-the-scenes details that it takes to make a business run.
During our time there we made a few trips back to the low country, Savannah and Charleston. We always felt so enamored by this part of the country and Savannah was familiar from our time spent here before. Savannah was the perfect place to open up a concept like ours as neighborhoods are growing and welcoming more small businesses.
We began working with a local commercial agent and she showed us the old Canine Palace on the corner of Bull + Victory and it felt perfect. We packed up everything and made the move! Here we are, almost 9 months later, about to begin our buildout!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It is really easy to conceptualize a business, it’s really hard to open it.
I think there needs to be more conversation around opening up a small business and all the different avenues that one has when it comes to getting your doors opened. Again, all our previous work experiences helped us realize that there is not just one way. Whether it is a conventional business loan from a bank, having investors, or just piecing it together as you go with the help of friends and family – it looks different for everyone.
Late Air isn’t a full-scale restaurant, meaning we don’t have to build out a full kitchen, which ultimately saves us A LOT of money. But that being said, getting funding has been hard and stressful and the most difficult part of this journey. Considering the size of the project we wanted to remain 100% in control of all decisions, so we didn’t explore the option of an investor.
Banks require collateral which we don’t have much of so we kept striking out there. If it wasn’t for the help of our families we would likely still be at square one. There are also great programs out there for small businesses that we have been lucky enough to benefit from.
Sometimes it feels like we are really learning as we are going- from permitting to taxes and insurance. I try to write down as much as I can so that when we decide to open up another concept I will remember these things that I may have overlooked with this project.
I hope too if anyone ever comes to us with questions we are able to give them insight into this process. We are so grateful to everyone that has taken the time to give us their knowledge and help! Mentors have meant everything to us.
As you know, we’re big fans of Late Air. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Late Air is a wine bar and small plate restaurant located at 2805 Bull St. in Savannah, GA. We focus on low intervention wine and seasonal small plates. Low intervention wine is a wine that essentially has nothing added and nothing is taken away. It’s made by real humans who are creating a true and honest product.
This means in the vineyard you will see hand-picked and harvested grapes, organic and biodynamic farming practices, and no spraying! In the cellar, there is little to zero interference, at most you will see some sulfur added to stabilize the bottle. These wines are ALIVE! They are expressive and always changing.
We have a 16-seat bar, a 5-seat window bar, and a dining room. In addition to our bar and tableside service, we will have a small retail section where you can browse bottles and some of our favorite pantry staples.
I love that guests will be able to come in for a glass or two and some small plates or pop in to grab a bottle and some snacks to go! In addition to wine, you will find some low ABV cocktails, as well as beer and of course some N/A beverages.
Our food selection will be rotating with the seasons and depend on what we can get in from farmers and growers that week. You will be able to find things like dressed-up jammy eggs and crudités, along with some more filling options like pan con tomate or crudos made from locally sourced fish.
We hope to host plenty of community events whether it be a wine tasting or having another local business pop up in our space for a night. We hope for Late Air to be accessible to as many people as possible, so we try to have offerings that hit all price points.
Whether it be a $3 beer and some snacks, an $8 glass of wine, or sharing a more expensive bottle amongst friends – there is something for everyone.
We will also be having a pop up at the Common Thread Courtyard from 6-9PM on Wednesday, June 22nd.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
We love how time moves slowly here. It has everything we like about living in a city but also feels like you can sneak away for a few days and just live in your neighborhood.
The amount of green space Savannah offers is unbelievable. You can walk everywhere and see something new each time. The food and beverage scene here is fun and growing. Being able to bike from home to the Starland area is such a plus.
I think we moved back at the perfect time, this area is growing in some of the best ways. I hope people continue to try and build community here and intentional businesses.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: lateairwine.com
- Instagram: @lateairwine
- Facebook: @lateairwine
Image Credits
Alex Bryant
