Tucked amongst the frivolous eateries and home improvement shops lies Khoury�s Fine Wine & Spirits (9915 S. Eastern Ave.) shaded by the umbra of processed shopping malls on Eastern Avenue in Green Valley.
The first time I stopped in was months back to buy a bottle of Stanley Lambert, my favorite winemaker. When I came back a few weeks ago, Issa Khoury knew exactly who I was.
�Dave, you like Stanley Lambert,� he said shrugging off my introduction as a wine columnist. I don�t feel special because he remembered me; he remembers all of his customers.
Issa is the owner and operator of Khoury�s and has knowledge of wine that would likely rival some of the town�s best sommeliers. And get this: He�s only 26 years old.
Khoury�s on Eastern Avenue opened two years ago, when (do the math) Issa was just 24. His family has been in the retail business for decades, running grocery stores in Northern Nevada. He graduated from UNLV with a degree in marketing and went right to work for Johnson Brothers liquor distributor. He�s a member of the International Sommelier Guild and, while he liked distributing liquor, he preferably fancies the retail end of booze much better.
�I always knew I wanted to open my own business,� he says. �I wasn�t sure if it would be a coffee shop, a convenient store, or what.�
Then, on a traditional trip to Napa Valley with his father, it hit him: Open a wine store. �This just fits,� he says.
From that moment to the ribbon cutting, it took only a year. Because he was only 24 at the time, no bank was willing to give Issa a loan, so his parents helped him out and remain quiet partners. They do come down for the big decisions like when they opened another location in December at 7150 S. Durango Blvd. But, mostly, the show is all Issa�s.
�I worked for Johnson Brothers everyday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., then I�d drive around with my realtor for two hours looking for locations.�
There is a good mix of consumers who come into Khoury�s. Many women visit as everyday drinkers looking for a nice bottle for the family to have with dinner, while most of the collectors, or cellar shoppers, are men in search of a new or rare find. Khoury�s gets a lot of knowledgeable industry professionals too, like waiters, bartenders and sommeliers.
�We carry the big names like Kendall Jackson so people aren�t intimidated,� Issa says. �But I like to learn about each customer and the next time they come in, I know what they like so I can make suggestions to them. Then, they come back and say, �That wine was really good,� and they learn to trust us.�
The staff is knowledgeable and kind. As I walked around the store, Agi Toth, a newly hired worker approached me with a grin and offered her assistance. Buying a good wine or a new wine can be daunting, but Issa and his team are armed and ready to jump into the vat with you.
Khoury�s back wall is a draw. Wood shelving prominently features choice wines next to the cellar, a glass enclosure cooled down and reserved for the kinds of wines designed for long-term aging. The wine racks in the store�s center hold bottles from Africa, France, New Zealand and California. Any region of the globe with a grape likely has a wine for sale at Khoury�s.
As Issa explains, �We can support winemakers that may not have the millions of dollars to do radio or magazine ads but still make a delicious wine.�
Young as he may be, Issa and his stores are aging like fine wine; maybe even better.
Try Khoury�s tasting events every week, which feature different regions and grapes each week and winemakers who bottle the product. The Eastern store hosts tastings on Thursdays, 6 to 8 p.m., and the Durango location Wednesdays, 6 to 8 p.m.
