Bottle and Bottega Meets with Franchise Interviews

One day in March 2009, Stephanie King-Myers – the daughter of a French artist who had been painting her entire life – was entertaining a friend who admitted that she was envious of the artistic talents of King-Myers and her husband, Nick, who had attended art school.

The couple convinced their friend that she could paint with the right inspiration, too, as they pulled out a blank canvas and a bottle of wine. After helping her friend successfully create her first masterpiece, a business idea was born for King-Myers, who along with her husband, had been laid off from their jobs a couple of weeks earlier.

Taking advantage of her entrepreneurial spirit, King-Myers’ idea blossomed into a thriving and exciting mobile business throughout Chicago’s neighborhoods. In 2010, the success and potential of the business caught the attention of franchise executive Nancy Bigley, who has more than 18 years of franchise operations experience with such brands as Baskin-Robbins, Mr. Electric and American Leak Detection.

Bigley joined the Bottle & Bottega team as co-owner and CEO in 2011, joining with King-Myers to establish a proven business model for franchise growth. A franchising program was launched in November 2011, with the first franchise sold the following month.