Meet Jenn Sharrer | Mom & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenn Sharrer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenn, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have worked in corporate America the last 23 years. Constantly chasing the title in corporate America (wine distribution & wineries) It was 5 years ago to the year that my husband and I both had an aha moment as he was landing and I was taking off to yet another city a part not only from eachother but also our 4 kids that we realized it was time for a change.

It was from there we started planning and dreaming about Sip+Savor.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At the heart of Sip+Savor our mission is first and foremost to serve and connect with our community. We are both bold and adventurous when it comes to our dining experience. Our food is Northern California inspired with a global influence using unique spices and added flavors to every plate presentation. Our cocktail program will only be using the freshest ingredients with a pre-prohibition style of craft bartending. Our guests will be exploring mostly west coast American wines with visits to France, Italy, Spain, Germany and everywhere in between! You see the suburbs deserve better representation of both food and wine but even more so HOSPITALITY! With Scott’s background in food and mine in wine; I am the Sip he is the Savor.

It took a lot of prayer and passion to get here today. Scott left his role with Front Burner first in October of 2021, I didn’t leave The Wine Group till February 2022 of the following year. This was a decision we both had to make pretty quickly as there was no way I could work full time while also planning and prioritizing my family along with design/layout of this new restaurant. The honest truth is I was so exhausted trying to keep up with the constant male dominant industry that I had worked in for so long. It was time for a much needed change of pace & scenery. Let’s be honest you work for people NOT companies.

It was far from easy, when I wasn’t working full time running the state of TX for The Wine Group, I was also trying to be a mom; I would go from pick up to making dinners, doing homework, making lunches for the next day and then stay up for hours brainstorming all the marketing behind that is now Sip+Savor. It was then that I decided to launch our brand on social media late March- to really get the community involved from start to finish. It has included the design process, the hiring and training of our people, our visits to wine country & most importantly who we were as a couple and what this project meant to us. I then hired a videographer to capture everything in full swing along with interviewing us as along the way.

Lesson learned:

It takes so much more than hard work to create a brand & work family that you are proud of. It takes an enormous amount of faith, perseverance and love to get where we are today. Going into business with your significant other is a task in itself but I can honestly say we are closer now than ever before. Even after 10 years of marriage.

I have worked my whole life since the age of 16 years & never once have looked back. To know that everything I have gone through has a purpose reminds me that this job right now is my whole purpose. You see its not just a job for me anymore, the restaurant is my mission field. We are not just a restaurant, we are community of people serving each other by creating memories around excellent food and wine. At Sip+Savor we want to set a new standard of hospitality from the moment you walk through our doors to the time you leave us.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Wine Country always.. We would start in the vineyards with the families behind the brands, understand their story, their struggles, what brings them joy, how did they even get here. Understand the land and all that it has to offer. Then we would work our way to the barrel room, where we would either see wine being aged in large wooden barrels or steel tanks, from there we would most likely visit their tasting tables. This is where it really starts to get fun, you get to taste anywhere from 6-8 wines all at once, whites, sparkling, reds, unique varietals where you get to truly understand and appreciate the soil you just visited just hours prior at the vineyards. You would take copious notes on everything from the nose (how does it smell) to taste from front to back of the pallet. Then hopefully you would have a local cheese and meat board to wash it all down with & guide walking you through it all. From here you would walk the winery estates taking in all its beauty, the paths, the ponds, the workers, they vines and even the mountains in the background.

Then you would leave the vineyards with some of the best hospitality wine country has to offer just to know you have reservations at 1 or 2 local spots for dinner. We have an obsession with Napa/Sonoma.

Our favorite wineries:
Round Pond
Pine Ridge
Frogs Leap
Jarvis
Quintessa
Palmaz
Antica
Darouish
Our favorite Eateries:
Layla
Wit & Wisdom
Charter Oak
La Taberna
Gott’s Roadside

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My list could go on and on-

My mom- I was raised by a single mom since the age of 5, she taught me independence and grit! I got to witness first hand what it meant to work tirelessly to provide for her family. Till this day we talk weekly & she pours so lovingly into me & my babies.

My husband- I met Scott when I was 5 years into this wine industry as a sales rep; from the moment I met him he has always pushed me to be better and given me a confidence that no one else possibly could. He is my biggest cheerleader and advocator.

How I built this by Guy Raz (podcast)- started listening to this podcast almost 6 years ago, it was after listening to the Peloton episode Scott and I started dreaming. These people came from nothing with ideas and bets on themselves. I genuinely thought this brands came from millionaires only to find out they came from ordinary people that needed others to believe in them as well.

Website: dinesipandsavor.com

Instagram: dinesipandsavor

Youtube: Sip+Savor

Image Credits
www.katemarieportaiture.com