Meet Erin O’Brien | Owner of Saved by the Wine

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin O’Brien and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
For me, when pulling the trigger to open business, it came down to what is going to really make me happy in my career. After much debate of risks and rewards, it became apparent that creating my own business was the only true option for me. My business partner (Allison), and I worked in the restaurant industry a long time and simply thought we could create our own unique space. We aspired to create a place that brought people together in a casual and warm atmosphere, do good by donating to the animal shelter, and be good employers. Thus, we created Saved by the wine, a wine bar and restaurant that donates to animal causes.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think one of the most interesting aspects of my journey is how I went straight from low level service industry positions to business ownership. I went to college for Kinesiology and Health Education; I worked in restaurants to support myself through school. Upon graduation, I was lost in what to do so I moved to Colorado, became a ski instructor, and continued working at restaurants. Ski school, and my summer golf course cart girl job, is where I met my business partner, Allison. My story continues on to work at different styles of restaurants in Colorado and gaining tons and tons of experience in the industry. At that point it was 2018 and I had formed many opinions on how a restaurant should run, and how to provided an amazing experience to guests. By 2019, I was 26 years old opening our own restaurant. All my time behind a bar/in the “front of house” and all of Allison’s experience as a chef, we knew we could pull it off. All we had to do was figure out the business aspect, write a plan, and find money, etc. With help from mentors, google, youtube, and pure drive- I figured out the business side of things. We are proud to open business as restaurant people opening a restaurant instead of business investors opening a restaurant. We think, you can tell the difference within minutes of your experience here at Saved by the Wine.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For a fun filled trip in Summit County hosted by me, would look like this: We stay at “The Pad” a new upscale hostel and hotel owned by summit county locals. Before starting the day we would grab a coffee at Red Buffalo Cafe which is your local coffee shop, right on the river.
In the winter we would spend the day skiing Arapahoe Basin, the less touristy mountain here. In the summer, we would go hike Mt. Royal or Lilly Pad Lake. After these activities, we would definitely need some happy hour, we would head to Outer Range Brewery in Frisco. Frisco is a cute mountain town near the hikes and skiing. Then, we’d have to check out some of my favorite dining in Breckenridge, which would bring us to an authentic French Bistro called “La Francaise Bistrot”. We’re still having a blast after lots of red Burgundy wine, so we decide to wrap up the night at my restaurant with fire-side s’mores on the patio & chocolate martinis. Oooo yea.

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?
I dedicate some of our success to Jason Corral, my college lacrosse coach. Jason mentored and supported me through college then eventually my process to open business. He and his wife, Carey, opened a brewery in Fayetteville, Arkansas that has become very successful. My business opened about 5 years after theirs, so a leaned on them a lot for help and guidance in all steps to open a restaurant.

Website: www.savedbythewine.com

Instagram: @savedbythewine

Facebook: www.facebook.com/savedbythewine

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyArAL4MS8k