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00:00Today is a conversation that I've been waiting to have because it was like she went into my brain
00:06and took my deepest darkest secrets and was like let's make it into action. We have a best-selling
00:10author, certified mental health coach, and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Jane of all trades,
00:17Miss Tambela Todd. How you doing? Good. How are you? I'm doing great because now like I said earlier
00:22been very excited for this because two of my favorite things. I love a good book and I love
00:27a good glass of wine. Yes. Even a mocktail or two because I know that you have those two. So tell
00:33me what the inspiration behind Sip and Read is because it's such a unique situation so I want
00:38you to explain what Sip and Read is for everyone. Yes. Sip and Read is a bookstore and bar. So my
00:44inspiration behind that is because I am an avid reader and I am an author and I'm always sipping
00:51something when I'm reading. As you should. But my favorite is wine. So even water. So you're
00:59sipping something. And I just want to put my two loves together. That was very important to me. And
01:05then I wanted to put my two loves together in my home state. Would you consider this a third space?
01:11Like I know a lot of times people consider libraries third spaces. Would you consider Sip and Read a third
01:16space for you? Yes. Sip and Read is a third space because it's not a co-working space. Right. And you're
01:21not at home. You're not in the office. But and a lot of people don't like clubs. So you know I wanted
01:29to have where you still have a relaxing feel. You still can hear some mellow music and you can still
01:35order yourself a drink and meet your friend or meet somebody new. Meet your book. You have a book club or
01:40just come in and pick up a book and sip. I love that because when I first heard about Sip and Read
01:47coming I thought that that was essentially what it was going to be where I'm not a club girl. I don't
01:51want to be out past 10 o'clock. I need to be in the house by 10. Yes. But I wanted somewhere where I
01:56felt comfortable to bring a plethora of friends because no one person just has one friend group.
02:02Right. They have a mixture and you want to be able to bring all of your friends to one place.
02:07Feel like you had a good time and then get back home. Yes. So I'm glad that that is the vision
02:12behind it because that's kind of what I thought it was. Yes. You can come to us before your dinner
02:17reservation or you can come to us after. And that's why I close at 9 p.m. I love that.
02:25So as a lifelong Detroiter, also you mentioned that you're a public author.
02:29How does your personal story shape into the now story of Sip and Read? Yes.
02:35Reading for me was therapeutic. So after going through different things in my life,
02:42that was like my outlet and it helped me. It helped foster the way that I wanted to
02:47see new ideas, see new things because reading takes you on a journey. Right.
02:52You have to get visual with the reading. So with that and then my love for, like I said,
02:58sipping something. I'm a coffee person too. I just was like, no, I said this, this,
03:05this love here. I had to expand it. I had to actually see it through.
03:09I love that. And as a reader, you know, I'm going to ask you,
03:12what's that book or book series that sparked the love? We all have one.
03:18Oh goodness. I have a lot of different book series I love. Um, but like I'll say Terry McMillan.
03:26She's a classic. I used to try to steal my mama's books.
03:29Yes. I was way too young to be reader Terry. Yes. Terry McMillan. Her series really sparks that
03:35for me. I love that. Okay. So as you mentioned, Sip and Read is also a bookstore. So how do you go
03:41about selecting your books? Because based off of what I've been seeing, it's very heavily curated for
03:47the atmosphere that you're going for. So what do you, what is in the forefront of your mind when
03:52you're thinking the selection of books that you want for the public? Always listen to my
03:55customers feedback. And then by me being a reader myself, so you can always follow book talk.
04:02Yes. You're going to get plenty of recommendations with book talk. Um, so I try to carry some old
04:07series and along with the newer series and then also the new releases. And that way I come out with
04:13a curated list that fits everybody. Cause someone could be looking for older books, classic books
04:19and band books. Um, I carry those too. So I have a section for wine books, band books. I have, um,
04:27a section for new releases. And then we have our, of course our fantasy and our, our crime and, and all
04:34to touch on everybody. Right. Cause you, you never know someone might want to switch genres or this is
04:41their first introduction to books because I think that this is the best way to do it. Yes. Because
04:45some people may think libraries are a little too intimidating because there's just so much
04:50resources that you can get there where I feel like this is a good stepping stone into it. Not only are
04:55you getting that intimate community aspect, but you're also getting the books curated just for you
04:59too. Yes. And then I try my best, like you say, with a library and some books, big, big box bookstores.
05:05There's so many books. So what we do focus on is not stuffing the shelves with so many selections.
05:12Right. I turned them over so often. I was about to ask you like how often you make changes and how
05:19people are able to communicate the feedback with you. Is there like an online portal or do they just
05:24come to you and you just have conversation? I have a bookseller that works, that works there. And she
05:30does one-on-one feedback with, with the customers. And that's usually how we get our feedback.
05:35Speaking of that, I noticed when you were doing the hiring for jobs, I loved how specific the jobs
05:42were. Yes. Why was a bookseller and also a wine connoisseur? I believe that I'm saying the job
05:48title wrong, but why were you so intentional on making sure that there was both niches met?
05:55Booksellers know about books. You have to be able to know about books. And my bookseller is on top of
06:03it. She knows the books like the back of her hand. So I needed that support system. Wine. I need you
06:10to love wine and be educated about wine in order to educate others. Right. So that was, that was the
06:17top things. And would you say that you're a mix of both or do you just tend to lean to your booksellers
06:24and the people that you've hired for their jobs? Both. Okay. Both. I lean to both. Yes.
06:28It's a little bit of you in this too. I know that typically with entrepreneurs and business owners,
06:34you want to ingrain as much as yourself into it, but it does seem like this is your baby. Yes.
06:40Personified like your heart outside of your sleeve. Yes, it is. This is my new baby,
06:44especially since all my children are adults. So like this is probably the best time to be able to have
06:50your own business that way. Yes, it is. I think I waited for the perfect time.
06:54And with this signature rosé, I had to bring this up because as a rosé drinker, I'm ready
07:00to come. Literally my mom is in town and I was waiting for her to come in town so I can
07:06take her here so I can try this rosé. Please tell me about Library of Rosé, please. What is,
07:11what is the vibes that you went to to curate your own signature rosé?
07:15Well, I wanted to stick with the Michigan brand. I only serve Michigan wines. Yes.
07:21You hear about people saying other regions, other countries, but we have a lot of wines here in
07:27Michigan, especially Pawpaw, Michigan, Travis City, Michigan. I also sit on the Michigan Wine
07:32Collaborative board members. What don't you do?
07:36So you have to do your research with wines. And I was like, no, we're only going to carry Michigan
07:43wines because we have a lot of beautiful blends here. So that's where I started at to get the education
07:50that way. And then I, um, I was like, well, I did cater more to the ladies. What do the ladies like?
07:57And they love rosé, but it had to have a literary thing. So that's where the Library of Rosé came
08:03into play. You chose a great one. I mean, you can't go wrong with rosé. Yes. It just feels like a
08:11little bit more elegant. And it goes with love stories. Right. There's a romantic vibe to it
08:17too. Yes. So I paired, you know, we do a lot of book wine pairings. So I said, well, what books would
08:23pair with this? So I had to go old school. I went with the notebook, um, love and basketball, the movie,
08:29because when you look on the back of the brand, it says, um, read, repeat or press play. Yes. So if
08:37you're watching movies, you're watching Netflix, all those things you can drink library rosé. And
08:41now I'm telling people you can buy it for, um, to watch roof and Boaz on Netflix. And that's a good
08:48one. I was going to mention that's a good one for a good glass of rosé. Yes. Again, I've been
08:54mentioning this throughout the interview, but just hearing you talk about everything, you're just so
08:57intentional about every aspect. What has been the most fun part about this journey so far?
09:03Oh, the fun part, hearing the feedback, hearing how I motivated other people when I'm really not
09:11looking at that. When I set my mind on a project and this is just me personally, um, have tunnel
09:16vision. So I'm really not paying attention to how people are watching. I'm looking for the execute
09:22of the project. Right. And just hearing the feedback of how people been watching me since
09:28when I first announced it, when I first started it is, is I appreciate that. And I mean, sincerely,
09:35I appreciate all feedback, good and bad because it helps me get better. So constructive criticism
09:41is a plus. And then also just people saying, you're encouraging me to write my book because I wrote my
09:48first book in 2018. Yeah. So me encouraging someone else to put pen to paper. That's, that's amazing to
09:55me. I love that. I mean, just from the Tik TOK community alone, cause that's where I first
09:59heard about Sip and Reed. They go real hard for you, girl. They were ready for this to be open.
10:06Yes. So I can only imagine how much love and feedback you've been getting so far. And not only
10:12just the, what you've created, but the representation of it. I mean, from everything that you do that we
10:21mentioned earlier, you are holding space in so many avenues. So how are you able to handle all of that
10:28on your play, girl? That's why I had to have a team. True. You can't, you can't grow without a team.
10:34You can't scale without a team. And I think that's where a lot of people get confused of want to do
10:39everything yourself. You have to delegate and you got to fall back. Right. Because Tam have to get her sleep.
10:45That's what I was about to ask. I'm like, girl, what do you? I sleep. Trust me. I sleep because I
10:50delegate everything to my team. That's good though. And clearly it's showing and the excitement and
10:57just the overall aesthetic and everything that has gone forward with the project and with this
11:02business, because not only is it just a good business as a, as a whole, when you walk into that
11:08space, it's beautiful from what I'm seeing. Again, I'm excited to just experience it live in effect
11:15now, but why were you so intentional of making sure that the space also felt cozy?
11:22Because I wanted to be your living room away from home. So like when I grew up, it was like,
11:27don't go in the living room. What is the living room you can sit in? No, our parents, our parents was
11:32like, don't go in the living room. Don't do this. There's plastic on the furniture. So sip and read is the
11:36living room that you can sit in. Um, I was intentional about this location too, because
11:43it's Cork town. You pop in your Cork. So I looked at a lot of locations. I was like, this is not it.
11:49This is not it. But when I reached Cork town, that was it. That was home for me.
11:54See, no, I didn't want to be corny and cheesy. Cause I thought that it was just like,
11:57maybe she did that like on purpose. Maybe she didn't, but I love that. What, and you,
12:02and I'm guessing it wasn't just like you went about, okay, Cork town. It just fell into your lap.
12:08It fell into my lap because I was introduced to the owner. So it, it all fell into my lap.
12:14Well, how serendipitous because where else could you be but Cork town?
12:18That's right. Yes. And with it being obviously so heavily influenced with Detroit in mind and
12:25Michigan in mind, how do you, um, want the ideal outside visitor to experience? Like what do you
12:32want them to leave with when they come in? Cause obviously this will be their, hopefully their
12:38first time under an idea of what Michigan has to offer. So what would the outside visitor want to,
12:46or how would you want them to see and leave with?
12:49I want the outside out of town or visitor to feel like I went to this cozy spot in Detroit and go
12:56back and tell everybody about it. That's right. Um, that they were able to relax because I'm big on
13:03relaxing. Like I mentioned my sleep. Right. And I think we all have such busy lives now. We don't
13:08know how to pull back. So that was my motive also. So that's the mental health aspect of it that I'm
13:15like, no, you got to pull back. You got to relax. So literally every aspect of who you are is in
13:21this because you just mentioned how you being a mental health advocate also as a part of this too.
13:26Yes. I love that. It just feels like everything's just so full circle in this one project that you
13:31have. Obviously there's other things, but you're able to just curate everything into one space for
13:36you. Yeah. I love it. Okay. So off camera, we were talking about book club. Yes. Are there any
13:42opportunities that you would love to see come to fruition, whether that's with local schools or
13:48different entities outside of Michigan? Like what are you thinking curation wise?
13:53Curation wise? Well, we will be launching our book club this month. Um, uh, cheers and chapters
13:59is that's what it's going to be called. You're so good at these names.
14:04So, um, and then we're also going to be doing white education. We'll be launching that this month too.
14:10Meaning that I can learn about wine. You can learn about wine and we're going to do it. It very
14:15intimate. It won't be a full class. We're going to do eight people. So we're going to be an eight
14:19week course and you will get a certification for it. Hold on now. See, this feels like this was also
14:25meant for me too, because I just happened to be in South of France this past week and I was in a
14:31winery and I was like, y'all, I really just want to learn. Yes. Like every time that they were telling me
14:36how much sugar it takes to make alcohol and like the different variations of how long you have to
14:42keep things into the barrels compared to other wines, like that interested me. So essentially
14:48that class would be that, or is it a little bit different? No, it will be that. Yes. And you will
14:54receive a book. You will have homework because it's important to teach our community about wine.
15:03Yeah. Instead of just coming in, drinking a glass, you know, I want you to be able to pair
15:08your wines when you go out to eat. So I, I want to educate as much as possible. I just got back from
15:14Napa myself. So I went there to get more information about this wine education class that we're putting
15:21together. So it's just important. That part is what I want to do for the community. That's
15:26incredible. Even the whole, how you hold your glass. You can't hold your glass because you're heating
15:31your wine up. I didn't even, I knew that you shouldn't do that, but I didn't know the science
15:35behind it. Yes. Oh, you're educated, miss. I like that. Especially with the fact that there are so
15:41few black sommeliers. Yes. So the fact that you are educating just the average Joe about wine is
15:48incredible. Yes. Yes. Okay. I got one more question for you. And I feel like you've kind of touched on
15:55what your idea of success is, but what does success look like for you? Not financially,
16:01but more so what you want Detroit to think about you, what you want the greater world to think about
16:07you, what you want the wine industry to think of you. What is that level of success look like for
16:12you? I will just say with success in general. Um, I really just want people to focus on the fact
16:20that whatever you put your mind to, you can do it. You just have to focus, right? Um, you know,
16:30block out the noise because you're going to get the distractions. And a lot of the distractions come
16:35from personal people in your circle, but you have to pull back from that in order to execute the idea
16:42that you want. So that's what success looks like to me. And that's what I, I always recommend for
16:48everybody else. I love that. And I bet you all those people who may have not said the best are
16:53looking at you a lot different now, girl. For sure. No, we didn't mention the address just for
16:59people who are in Metro Detroit and everybody else who will see this, who's going to take a trip
17:03from outside the state. Let them know where they can find you address social media, because we need
17:09to make sure that we're tapped into those book clubs and the wine education class. I'm going to be
17:13there. Okay. We are at 1620 Michigan Avenue, suite 122. Um, we're right off of Michigan and Trumbull
17:21and our website is sipandread.net. And our social is Instagram is sipn, the letter n, read book bar.
17:34I love it. Thank you so much for your time. And if you don't have a glass in your hand,
17:38head over to Sip and Read right now. Please, we welcome you.
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