LYNN — Sarah Marshall’s road to becoming a certified sommelier has taken her to multiple countries in Europe while working at some of the finest restaurants in Boston. When she was looking for a location to open a specialty wine and beer shop, however, she chose lower Washington Street in Lynn, which makes perfect sense to Marshall.
“This is the perfect space,” Marshall said of the 1,300 square feet in which she plans to open Lucille wine shop and tasting room on Feb. 8. Lucille will be located in a three-story building at 776 Washington St. that formerly housed Fran’s Place bar and has been redeveloped by Omar Guerrero. The top two floors are residential, while there is room for up to three additional retail establishments at street level. Next door is the 71-unit Gateway North mixed-use development opened by Neighborhood Development Associates in 2016.
“I loved the aesthetics of the building and the ability to spec it out according to my needs,” Marshall said. “There’s good energy in Lynn, and with all the development, there are a lot of new residents arriving.”
Marshall became one of those new Lynners three years ago when she moved into a condominium in the old Franklin Street fire station.
“My realtor suggested Lynn and I laughed,” she said. “Then I looked online at the building and thought if this is what my money gets me in Lynn, then sign me up. Lynn was not on my list for business or my personal life, but it quickly went to the top of my list.”
Once Marshall settled on a concept for her entrepreneurial endeavor, she reached out to EDIC for financial assistance and received a $100,000 loan from the Lynn Municipal Finance Corporation to be used for the buildout. Her mother, Brenda, is also an investor.
“We think the concept Sarah has created fits in perfectly with the ongoing transformation of downtown and the waterfront,” said EDIC/Lynn Executive Director James M. Cowdell. “We are pleased to support her and hope that Lucille leads to other bold ideas coming to fruition.”
Lucille will initially serve mainly as a retail craft beer and wine shop, with bottles ranging from $10 to $300. Vintage glassware will also be sold. Marshall, who has an extensive background in event planning and restaurants, can envision cooking classes and a demo kitchen, as well as the space being rented for private parties of up to 50. Sue Meigs will be the manager and vintage buyer for Lucille, which will be open every day except Sunday.
“We’ve built flexible space,” she said of Lucille, which is named for Marshall’s maternal grandmother. ” I was nervous about opening a bricks-and-mortar retail store. We have to create an experience that someone can’t get online. We want to make wine approachable and fun and interactive.”
A Maryland native who came to Boston to attend Northeastern University, Marshall started her career as an intern and later private events director at L’Espalier. She was certified as a sommelier in 2014 and earned a certificate in wine studies from the Elizabeth Bishop Wine Resource Center at Boston University in 2015. She has traveled extensively in wine regions in Europe.
After having focused on event planning for restaurants early in her career, she reassessed her interests in 2010 and shifted to wine, starting as a cashier at Central Bottle in Cambridge. That led to a four-year stint working for the Barbara Lynch Restaurant Group at The Butcher Shop wine bar and Stir demo kitchen and cookbook store in Boston, where Marshall picked wine pairings for guests.
She subsequently worked as assistant wine director and assistant manager of Meritage in the Boston Harbor Hotel, and wine director at Oleana in Cambridge and Sarma in Somerville. She left those positions in the fall of 2018 and knew she was ready for a new challenge. When her mother called and said she wanted to invest in a business, the idea for Lucille was born.
During a run to the beach in January 2019, Marshall noticed the space on Washington Street and contacted Guerrero, who convinced her that a storefront would be ideal for her concept. In addition to the assistance from EDIC, Marshall needed the City Council and state legislature to approve a home-rule petition that created a new liquor license specifically associated with her business at that address, since the City did not have any liquor licenses available.
“The City has been great to work with,” Marshall said.
