February 16, 2026 • 17 mins
The heartbeat of a great neighborhood is often a single place where curiosity turns into connection—and for Walker, that place might be Siciliano’s. We sit with owners Dan and Tiffany to unpack how a family-owned specialty market evolved into a community hub for homebrewing, wine kits, cigars, and curated pairings, all while honoring the legacy that started it in the 90s. From the first “build your own six-pack” to a modern mix of local coffee, artisan cheese, and zero-proof options, their story shows what happens when service and education come first.
We talk candidly about growth: moving from the West Side to Walker, adding space and parking, and scaling up with new walk-in coolers, a three-times-larger humidor, and hundreds more wines and spirits. That expansion unlocked bigger tastings, better events, and room for a thousand-plus beers. The secret isn’t just selection; it’s curation. Partnerships with Magnum Coffee, The Cheese Lady, Grand Ice, and Semifreddo turn a simple stop into a full experience you can taste, share, and bring home.
Education drives everything. Whether you’re a curious beginner or a seasoned brewer, the team helps you start with approachable wine kits, connects you with local homebrew clubs, and invites you to free events like the annual homebrew competition and Big Brew Day at Trail Point. It’s no surprise that several local breweries began in these aisles. Along the way, Dan and Tiffany open up about running a growing shop, raising a young family, and serving Walker on the downtown authority—proof that small business can shape a city’s culture.
Ready to explore, learn, or brew your first batch? Hit play, subscribe for more stories from Walker, and share this episode with a friend who loves craft, flavor, and community. Your review helps more neighbors find the show—what should we taste or brew together next?
If you have comments about this podcast, or ideas for future episodes, please email us at PODCAST@WALKER.CITY
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SPEAKER_01 (00:07):
Welcome to Maiden Walker, podcast that connects
you to the people, the stories,and the ideas shaping our
community.
From local innovators toeveryday change makers, we're
diving deep into what makesWalker a great place to live,
work, and grow.
Here's your host, NicoleDiDonato.
SPEAKER_03 (00:26):
Well, if you've ever been to Sicilianos in Standale,
you know it's more than just amarket.
It's an experience.
With a longtime Grand Rapidsbusiness, family-owned business,
moved from Grand Rapids toStandale into Walker just about
a year ago, and uh is growingalongside another family
venture.
I'm pleased to have the ownersof Sicilianos Market and
(00:47):
specialty beverage.
We have Dan and Tiffany Sipkas.
Thank you both so much forjoining us.
SPEAKER_00 (00:51):
Absolutely.
Thank you for having us.
SPEAKER_03 (00:53):
Yeah, we're excited.
Yeah, of course.
And for anyone who's maybe notstepped into your market before,
what is it all about?
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
Uh first off, it's all about the customer
experience.
Uh that's one thing that Steveand Barb from the beginning
really hit on, and the staff hasjust been tremendous over the
years.
When someone walks in, it's hey,how can I help you?
Not just, you know, sittingbehind the registers, more where
can we help you?
What are you looking for?
Um, because we have a greatvariety of products and you may
(01:20):
need help finding somethingbecause you there's a lot to
look at in there.
SPEAKER_02 (01:23):
Sure is.
Yeah, the only thing I'd add isjust we've carried on the
tradition that again StephenBarb started of just being um
part of community and having uhour service provide more
community.
So we have a lot of events, um,but we're also very much focused
on education.
And so not just like helping youfind what you're looking for,
(01:44):
but also educating you along theway on what you might, you know,
not know that you are interestedin.
Or, you know, we have a reallylarge homebrew and winemaking
community.
And so trying to provide morevisibility to that is also, you
know, one of our goals.
SPEAKER_03 (01:58):
Yeah, great place to do that here in Grand Rapids.
But you've grown since then.
You've added a lot moreproducts, a lot more
partnerships have kind of comeover the years since kind of
taking over as well.
Um, and first we'll just back upas far as taking over ownership.
Why was that so important tocontinue this family business?
SPEAKER_02 (02:15):
Yeah, I can start.
So um the Cicleanos family havelong been family friends of of
my family, the the Borismas.
Um we've known them for myentire life, and my dad and a
lot of my brothers and familyhad been making wine through the
Cicleano store and with thefamily.
And so um it was important toStephen Barb when they were
(02:36):
ready to retire that the thestore continued and um it it
kind of just worked out perfecttiming.
Um my dad had talked to him andidentified as an opportunity for
Dan and I to step in.
Dan's more the people person,salesman.
I like the back of house, moreaccounting, book work.
And so um, yeah, we worked umalongside Steve and Barb the few
(03:00):
months before we took over justto really learn the ropes from
them.
And um, it was just a theperfect marriage of being able
to have kind of like younger newenergy come in and and pick up
the torch that they had started.
SPEAKER_00 (03:12):
Yeah, and they it was started in 1993.
Steve bought a 7-Eleven onCreston, actually, yeah, and uh
operated that for years, andthen the old location, 2840 Lake
Michigan, um, was Johnny's partystore.
Uh he bought that.
Um, I remember he told me whencraft beer came out, he's like,
(03:32):
How do I sell this expensivebeer?
And that's when like a lightbulb went off, and he started
the create your own.
Uh so buy uh grab one beer fromhere, one beer from there,
create your own six pack.
Um, and that really madeSiciliano's part of what it is,
and then kind of went into uhwhat she said with the home beer
winemaking supplies.
People are like wanted to getinto it, and there's nothing
(03:53):
around here.
Um, and there's other storesthat did pop up since then, but
haven't made it, unfortunately.
Um, because we're now the onlyhome beer winemaking shop within
about two or three hours.
So we had people traveling fromAnn Arbor, Lansing, Kalamazoo
just to come in and get yeah,our products and our expect
expertise from the staff too, aswell.
SPEAKER_03 (04:13):
So was that something that you always had in
the back you you knew about homebrewing, or is that something
you had to kind of uh become aproficient in, efficient in?
SPEAKER_00 (04:22):
Yeah, that's something that I had to become
efficient in in like winemaking.
Uh her family's done it foryears.
So um I started that with themin 2020, which was awesome to
do.
Um yeah, um, it's been fun.
SPEAKER_03 (04:36):
Yeah.
And what do you think of youwere kind of saying, Tiffany,
just that younger generationbringing this, um, introducing
it more and uh making it moremainstream.
What do you think that's reallydone for your business?
SPEAKER_02 (04:47):
I mean, I think it's just been exciting to bring
visibility to a craft that'sbeen around for, you know,
forever and has, especially inGrand Rapids, has been a big
deal.
Um, but has, you know, craftbeer industry has declined a
little bit.
And so we've taken it asresponsibility, as like a
(05:08):
platform that is involved hereto try to bring more younger
people in.
So we have a lot of like freeevents.
We have a big brew day every Maythat's free to the public.
And we have all of our homebrewing clubs come and kind of
like share what they do.
And so um I think it's reallyexciting.
Um, but it's also, you know, asbusiness owners, we've had to
(05:30):
adapt to newer generations, likethe latest generations that are
drinking age are actually doinga lot less drinking of alcohol.
And so just trying to stay aheadof those trends and really adapt
our offerings to meet what umthe community and the customers
want, which has meant that wehave like a much more extensive
(05:53):
non-alcoholic selection.
Um, and so that's been excitingtoo, because it's just uh a
totally new vector of products.
SPEAKER_03 (06:01):
Yes.
And you've expanded to so manyother partnerships as well with
coffees and cheeses.
Um, how do you choose whichpartnerships or which um
supplies you want to startcarrying?
SPEAKER_00 (06:12):
A lot of it is uh um asking the customers what they
want, right?
Um, but searching any avenue,like I think we've talked about
it before, like if you don't tryit, you don't know.
So we're open to anything.
Um, so some of thosepartnerships, like you said,
coffee, Magnum Coffee, andSpring Lake, they've been great.
Um, we started uh roasting freshcoffee every morning uh to sell
(06:35):
to.
Um then we partner with thecheese lady, so a variety of
cheeses.
I mean, when we first startedthat, uh, we had 10 cheeses and
we're now we're at like 25.
Um, so it's just thatconvenience of picking up a
bottle of wine, pairing it withthe cheese, or an IPA with the
cheese.
Um, some other localpartnerships, Grand Ice, which
(06:57):
is cocktail ice cubes, um, madelocally by uh um a family-owned
business here.
They're actually their ice isused in Amway and uh Select
stores here, so those are reallycool.
Uh semi Freddo ice cream withRight and Walker as well.
Um, Jordan and his wife makeItalian ice cream, so we've
brought that on, which is great.
So, yeah, it's um bringing onnew items.
(07:20):
Um, and it's about the peopletoo you work with.
Another one is hippie chippies.
Uh so we do their chips andtheir fresh salsa, um, but it's
about the product and thepartnership in the person too.
SPEAKER_03 (07:30):
Yeah, I think it's more meaningful when you have
those partnerships behind it,those relationships.
Yeah, definitely.
And um celebrated a year inWalker.
I know that was a big uhtransformation, kind of moving
out of Grand Rapids, the WestSide, folks really knew you, and
then coming into Walker.
It was our game.
We're pretty excited about that.
What um what made you choosecoming down Lake Michigan Drive?
SPEAKER_02 (07:51):
Yeah, I mean, so we're both from the West Side,
very close to Walker.
Um, my parents actually startedtheir first business in Standale
many, many, many years ago, um,the cactus stand, well before
Standale was developed to whereit is today.
So um it's an area we were veryfamiliar with and and was close
(08:11):
to us.
Um, and you know, the the oldlocation for Cicelianos was
great.
It served its purpose, but wewere really looking to expand
and have a little bit morespace.
And um the the location that wemoved to in Walker just allowed
for that.
It was really the catalyst forus to be able to make a lot of
the improvements that we alwayswanted to when we first took
(08:32):
over, but kind of were a littlejust constrained with the space
that we had.
And so it's been really cool toinvest in all new walk-in
coolers and more retail spaceand have, you know, more
capacity to do bigger tastingsand like stuff in the store to
really get people in and try newthings.
(08:53):
Um, so and parking has been ahuge plus that was always kind
of a uh a sore spot in the oldstore.
And um yeah, I mean, Dan canspeak more to kind of also just
the the wider customer base fromwalkability that we've had as
well.
SPEAKER_00 (09:09):
Oh, okay.
Yeah, so um the move has beengreat.
Um more foot traffic.
Um, we're still getting oldcustomers, we're getting new
customers, we're getting a lotmore businesses that are
supporting to nearby, they'reseeing us.
Uh, there's still people thatwere don't know who we are
sometimes.
I had a guy come in a coupleweeks ago and he said he Googled
(09:30):
a liquor store near him and helives in the apartments behind
us for two years.
But he's like, wow, this placeis awesome.
You have coffee, you have tea,you have snacks, you have craft
beer.
Um so I'll tell people aboutthis.
Um, and yeah, the the move was,like she said, a catalyst for
things that we wanted to do atthe old place but couldn't do.
Um, our coolers were were goingpretty they're they're old
(09:54):
there.
So uh it would have been hard tokind of make that move.
And our our our humidor um was athird of the size smaller at the
old place.
We really wanted to make thatbigger, so now that's three
times the size.
Uh we went from you knowcarrying a hundred uh brands of
boxes of cigars to 250.
Oh wow, which is still it'sawesome, and that's a great um a
(10:18):
lot of people are still smokingcigars in the the golf season
and and winter, even too.
Um, but yeah, it's been a uh agreat opportunity to expand in a
lot of places.
So also like spirits, you know,we added a couple hundred more
spirits, wine we were able toadd more wine.
Uh we have over a thousandbeers, I'd say.
Yeah.
(10:38):
Um yeah, and then uh City ofWalker's been great and the
people have been great.
So it's just been a good moveoverall.
SPEAKER_03 (10:45):
Yeah.
And I love that uh story of justkind of coming back home to
where your family had firststarted a business.
Your brother, actually, Tiffany,owns Adobe, just a few doors
down from you.
Um again, what's that experienceworking alongside another
family, family member?
SPEAKER_02 (11:02):
It's great.
I mean, it's it's fun to be inthe same vicinity as well.
Like it gives us moreopportunities.
We've done plenty of tastingswith Adobe and different events.
Like we did one for Mother's Daylast year.
That was really fun.
Um, but also just to haveanother, you know, person to
talk to about running a smallbusiness.
Like it can be very lonely ifyou don't have the right type of
(11:26):
people to kind of talk to aboutthe challenges and like how
you're navigating differentsituations.
So that's been really um, youknow, invaluable to Dan and I to
have not only another businessowner, but a fan a close family
to be able to talk to and yeah,just kind of navigate the the
difficulties and the high, youknow, the highs and the lows
(11:46):
together.
SPEAKER_03 (11:47):
And uh, what do you think you've learned about
yourselves being, I know you'rea young family, balancing that
work life uh, you know, leveragethere.
What do you think you've learnedabout yourself since becoming
store owners, business owners?
SPEAKER_00 (12:00):
She's superwoman.
I'll tell you that.
I mean, from balancing, she alsois working nine to five.
We have we welcomed two kids uhsince taking over the store when
we were when we were moving thestore.
Uh she was eight months pregnantthere at 10 o'clock, putting
together gondola shelving.
But um, yeah, I mean, it's likeshe said, there's highs and
(12:22):
lows, and it's a 24-7 job.
You know, we're open seven daysa week.
We have staff that we care for alot, and we're there for them
when they need something, ifthey have questions.
Um yeah, it's it's we've learneda lot and it's showing how I
feel like tough and resilient wecan be.
Yeah.
Yeah.
unknown (12:39):
That's great.
SPEAKER_03 (12:40):
Yeah.
And uh love also, Tiffany,seeing you kind of stepping up
and helping serve within thecity of Walker on our downtown
development authority that's uhthat takes care of that downtown
of Standale.
You're a business owner inStandale.
What do you hope to kind of gainout of that experience?
SPEAKER_02 (12:54):
Yeah, I mean, I think I I just feel very
fortunate to be able to beinvolved and to be able to um,
you know, not only be hearingabout what we're doing, but also
potentially have a voice in inthe direction that we go
because, you know, it impacts usas a business, but it also
impacts um us as communitymembers and and you know, all of
(13:15):
our family and friends that arein the area.
And so um, yeah, it's just beenreally exciting and I'm I'm
really looking forward tocontinuing to work with the
group.
SPEAKER_03 (13:23):
Yeah, it's a unique dynamic that you have.
And so for people who areinterested in learning more
about the Cilianos, wanting tostep uh stop on by, check out
the inventory, maybe even getinto the craft brewing, their
home brewing, what's the thebest way for them to get started
and check you guys out?
SPEAKER_00 (13:39):
The best way is stopping in and talking to us in
person.
I mean, we're available overphone calls, obviously, too, to
to tell you more about our storeand answer your questions, but
the in-person experience um istop-notch.
Like I said, our staff, um,Katie, Beckett, Alex, and
Jackson are all willing and wantto help and really expand
(14:04):
Sicilianos and keep that goingand expand our customer growth.
SPEAKER_02 (14:08):
So yeah, and I think coming in, it's our best way of
understanding what it is thatsomeone wants, and then we can
kind of tailor what ourrecommendations are from there.
You know, like we have peoplecome in that are interested in
winemaking and maybe they're alittle hesitant.
So it's like, we'll start withkits as opposed to like doing
grapes.
And um, similarly, there's justso many resources that we can
(14:30):
connect people with, especiallyum in the homebrew community
with how many different homebrewclubs, like we we really try to
support them and um increasetheir membership.
So if there's people that areactually really interested in in
craft beer and and brewing, thenwe can connect them with the
local club.
SPEAKER_00 (14:48):
Which we do have our uh so we have a Cisciano's
homebrew competition every year.
There's 150 entries, which isawesome, and there's like BJCP
certified judges.
Um, shout out to all thehomebrew club members that make
that happen and judge andsteward with us.
Um, but on May 2nd this year,Saturday, uh, we have Big Brew
Day at Trailpoint.
We partner with them.
So there's gonna be usually 15to 20 homebrew club member teams
(15:11):
brewing on site, and then weannounce the winner of the
competition.
But that's another way to umlearn from us, but also the
homebrew community itself.
Like they're on site uh handingout their homebrews they make,
but also making and answeringquestions.
Uh so we appreciate uh Jeff andGary uh allowing us to partner
with them to allow us to havethat event as well.
SPEAKER_03 (15:33):
A lot of support if you want to get into this.
You know, we always oh go ahead.
SPEAKER_00 (15:37):
That was very cool to uh kind of backtracking a
little bit with the legacy thatSteve and Barb built, but it's
also very awesome and cool tosee all the breweries that
started because of it.
Um, yeah, a lot of the the uhthe mitten uh trailpoint
archival, those are all peoplethat started as homebrewers from
our shop.
(15:58):
So that's awesome to see.
And there's there's many morethan that, too.
SPEAKER_03 (16:01):
But that's a great story of just seeing that and
their success now, all becausethose Sicilianos.
That's incredible.
You know, we talk about havingexperiences in communities, and
your store is that adestination, a place to go, a
place to learn, and to justcultivate relationships.
And who knows?
So, Dan and Tiffany, incrediblework you guys are doing.
We are so grateful that you'repart of Walker Community.
(16:24):
Yes.
Thank you so much for beingpart, of course.
Yes.
And we thank you for tuning inas well.
SPEAKER_01 (16:29):
Thank you for joining us for this episode of
the Maiden Walker Podcast.
If you have comments orquestions about this podcast, or
if you have suggestions forfuture episodes, we'd love to
hear from you.
Please drop us an email atpodcast at walker.city.
Maiden Walker is the officialpodcast of the city of Walker,
Michigan.
(16:49):
You can find Maiden Walkerwherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to Maiden Walker, podcast that connects
you to the people, the stories,and the ideas shaping our
community.
From local innovators toeveryday change makers, we're
diving deep into what makesWalker a great place to live,
work, and grow.
Here's your host, NicoleDiDonato.
SPEAKER_03 (00:26):
Well, if you've ever been to Sicilianos in Standale,
you know it's more than just amarket.
It's an experience.
With a longtime Grand Rapidsbusiness, family-owned business,
moved from Grand Rapids toStandale into Walker just about
a year ago, and uh is growingalongside another family
venture.
I'm pleased to have the ownersof Sicilianos Market and
(00:47):
specialty beverage.
We have Dan and Tiffany Sipkas.
Thank you both so much forjoining us.
SPEAKER_00 (00:51):
Absolutely.
Thank you for having us.
SPEAKER_03 (00:53):
Yeah, we're excited.
Yeah, of course.
And for anyone who's maybe notstepped into your market before,
what is it all about?
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
Uh first off, it's all about the customer
experience.
Uh that's one thing that Steveand Barb from the beginning
really hit on, and the staff hasjust been tremendous over the
years.
When someone walks in, it's hey,how can I help you?
Not just, you know, sittingbehind the registers, more where
can we help you?
What are you looking for?
Um, because we have a greatvariety of products and you may
(01:20):
need help finding somethingbecause you there's a lot to
look at in there.
SPEAKER_02 (01:23):
Sure is.
Yeah, the only thing I'd add isjust we've carried on the
tradition that again StephenBarb started of just being um
part of community and having uhour service provide more
community.
So we have a lot of events, um,but we're also very much focused
on education.
And so not just like helping youfind what you're looking for,
(01:44):
but also educating you along theway on what you might, you know,
not know that you are interestedin.
Or, you know, we have a reallylarge homebrew and winemaking
community.
And so trying to provide morevisibility to that is also, you
know, one of our goals.
SPEAKER_03 (01:58):
Yeah, great place to do that here in Grand Rapids.
But you've grown since then.
You've added a lot moreproducts, a lot more
partnerships have kind of comeover the years since kind of
taking over as well.
Um, and first we'll just back upas far as taking over ownership.
Why was that so important tocontinue this family business?
SPEAKER_02 (02:15):
Yeah, I can start.
So um the Cicleanos family havelong been family friends of of
my family, the the Borismas.
Um we've known them for myentire life, and my dad and a
lot of my brothers and familyhad been making wine through the
Cicleano store and with thefamily.
And so um it was important toStephen Barb when they were
(02:36):
ready to retire that the thestore continued and um it it
kind of just worked out perfecttiming.
Um my dad had talked to him andidentified as an opportunity for
Dan and I to step in.
Dan's more the people person,salesman.
I like the back of house, moreaccounting, book work.
And so um, yeah, we worked umalongside Steve and Barb the few
(03:00):
months before we took over justto really learn the ropes from
them.
And um, it was just a theperfect marriage of being able
to have kind of like younger newenergy come in and and pick up
the torch that they had started.
SPEAKER_00 (03:12):
Yeah, and they it was started in 1993.
Steve bought a 7-Eleven onCreston, actually, yeah, and uh
operated that for years, andthen the old location, 2840 Lake
Michigan, um, was Johnny's partystore.
Uh he bought that.
Um, I remember he told me whencraft beer came out, he's like,
(03:32):
How do I sell this expensivebeer?
And that's when like a lightbulb went off, and he started
the create your own.
Uh so buy uh grab one beer fromhere, one beer from there,
create your own six pack.
Um, and that really madeSiciliano's part of what it is,
and then kind of went into uhwhat she said with the home beer
winemaking supplies.
People are like wanted to getinto it, and there's nothing
(03:53):
around here.
Um, and there's other storesthat did pop up since then, but
haven't made it, unfortunately.
Um, because we're now the onlyhome beer winemaking shop within
about two or three hours.
So we had people traveling fromAnn Arbor, Lansing, Kalamazoo
just to come in and get yeah,our products and our expect
expertise from the staff too, aswell.
SPEAKER_03 (04:13):
So was that something that you always had in
the back you you knew about homebrewing, or is that something
you had to kind of uh become aproficient in, efficient in?
SPEAKER_00 (04:22):
Yeah, that's something that I had to become
efficient in in like winemaking.
Uh her family's done it foryears.
So um I started that with themin 2020, which was awesome to
do.
Um yeah, um, it's been fun.
SPEAKER_03 (04:36):
Yeah.
And what do you think of youwere kind of saying, Tiffany,
just that younger generationbringing this, um, introducing
it more and uh making it moremainstream.
What do you think that's reallydone for your business?
SPEAKER_02 (04:47):
I mean, I think it's just been exciting to bring
visibility to a craft that'sbeen around for, you know,
forever and has, especially inGrand Rapids, has been a big
deal.
Um, but has, you know, craftbeer industry has declined a
little bit.
And so we've taken it asresponsibility, as like a
(05:08):
platform that is involved hereto try to bring more younger
people in.
So we have a lot of like freeevents.
We have a big brew day every Maythat's free to the public.
And we have all of our homebrewing clubs come and kind of
like share what they do.
And so um I think it's reallyexciting.
Um, but it's also, you know, asbusiness owners, we've had to
(05:30):
adapt to newer generations, likethe latest generations that are
drinking age are actually doinga lot less drinking of alcohol.
And so just trying to stay aheadof those trends and really adapt
our offerings to meet what umthe community and the customers
want, which has meant that wehave like a much more extensive
(05:53):
non-alcoholic selection.
Um, and so that's been excitingtoo, because it's just uh a
totally new vector of products.
SPEAKER_03 (06:01):
Yes.
And you've expanded to so manyother partnerships as well with
coffees and cheeses.
Um, how do you choose whichpartnerships or which um
supplies you want to startcarrying?
SPEAKER_00 (06:12):
A lot of it is uh um asking the customers what they
want, right?
Um, but searching any avenue,like I think we've talked about
it before, like if you don't tryit, you don't know.
So we're open to anything.
Um, so some of thosepartnerships, like you said,
coffee, Magnum Coffee, andSpring Lake, they've been great.
Um, we started uh roasting freshcoffee every morning uh to sell
(06:35):
to.
Um then we partner with thecheese lady, so a variety of
cheeses.
I mean, when we first startedthat, uh, we had 10 cheeses and
we're now we're at like 25.
Um, so it's just thatconvenience of picking up a
bottle of wine, pairing it withthe cheese, or an IPA with the
cheese.
Um, some other localpartnerships, Grand Ice, which
(06:57):
is cocktail ice cubes, um, madelocally by uh um a family-owned
business here.
They're actually their ice isused in Amway and uh Select
stores here, so those are reallycool.
Uh semi Freddo ice cream withRight and Walker as well.
Um, Jordan and his wife makeItalian ice cream, so we've
brought that on, which is great.
So, yeah, it's um bringing onnew items.
(07:20):
Um, and it's about the peopletoo you work with.
Another one is hippie chippies.
Uh so we do their chips andtheir fresh salsa, um, but it's
about the product and thepartnership in the person too.
SPEAKER_03 (07:30):
Yeah, I think it's more meaningful when you have
those partnerships behind it,those relationships.
Yeah, definitely.
And um celebrated a year inWalker.
I know that was a big uhtransformation, kind of moving
out of Grand Rapids, the WestSide, folks really knew you, and
then coming into Walker.
It was our game.
We're pretty excited about that.
What um what made you choosecoming down Lake Michigan Drive?
SPEAKER_02 (07:51):
Yeah, I mean, so we're both from the West Side,
very close to Walker.
Um, my parents actually startedtheir first business in Standale
many, many, many years ago, um,the cactus stand, well before
Standale was developed to whereit is today.
So um it's an area we were veryfamiliar with and and was close
(08:11):
to us.
Um, and you know, the the oldlocation for Cicelianos was
great.
It served its purpose, but wewere really looking to expand
and have a little bit morespace.
And um the the location that wemoved to in Walker just allowed
for that.
It was really the catalyst forus to be able to make a lot of
the improvements that we alwayswanted to when we first took
(08:32):
over, but kind of were a littlejust constrained with the space
that we had.
And so it's been really cool toinvest in all new walk-in
coolers and more retail spaceand have, you know, more
capacity to do bigger tastingsand like stuff in the store to
really get people in and try newthings.
(08:53):
Um, so and parking has been ahuge plus that was always kind
of a uh a sore spot in the oldstore.
And um yeah, I mean, Dan canspeak more to kind of also just
the the wider customer base fromwalkability that we've had as
well.
SPEAKER_00 (09:09):
Oh, okay.
Yeah, so um the move has beengreat.
Um more foot traffic.
Um, we're still getting oldcustomers, we're getting new
customers, we're getting a lotmore businesses that are
supporting to nearby, they'reseeing us.
Uh, there's still people thatwere don't know who we are
sometimes.
I had a guy come in a coupleweeks ago and he said he Googled
(09:30):
a liquor store near him and helives in the apartments behind
us for two years.
But he's like, wow, this placeis awesome.
You have coffee, you have tea,you have snacks, you have craft
beer.
Um so I'll tell people aboutthis.
Um, and yeah, the the move was,like she said, a catalyst for
things that we wanted to do atthe old place but couldn't do.
Um, our coolers were were goingpretty they're they're old
(09:54):
there.
So uh it would have been hard tokind of make that move.
And our our our humidor um was athird of the size smaller at the
old place.
We really wanted to make thatbigger, so now that's three
times the size.
Uh we went from you knowcarrying a hundred uh brands of
boxes of cigars to 250.
Oh wow, which is still it'sawesome, and that's a great um a
(10:18):
lot of people are still smokingcigars in the the golf season
and and winter, even too.
Um, but yeah, it's been a uh agreat opportunity to expand in a
lot of places.
So also like spirits, you know,we added a couple hundred more
spirits, wine we were able toadd more wine.
Uh we have over a thousandbeers, I'd say.
Yeah.
(10:38):
Um yeah, and then uh City ofWalker's been great and the
people have been great.
So it's just been a good moveoverall.
SPEAKER_03 (10:45):
Yeah.
And I love that uh story of justkind of coming back home to
where your family had firststarted a business.
Your brother, actually, Tiffany,owns Adobe, just a few doors
down from you.
Um again, what's that experienceworking alongside another
family, family member?
SPEAKER_02 (11:02):
It's great.
I mean, it's it's fun to be inthe same vicinity as well.
Like it gives us moreopportunities.
We've done plenty of tastingswith Adobe and different events.
Like we did one for Mother's Daylast year.
That was really fun.
Um, but also just to haveanother, you know, person to
talk to about running a smallbusiness.
Like it can be very lonely ifyou don't have the right type of
(11:26):
people to kind of talk to aboutthe challenges and like how
you're navigating differentsituations.
So that's been really um, youknow, invaluable to Dan and I to
have not only another businessowner, but a fan a close family
to be able to talk to and yeah,just kind of navigate the the
difficulties and the high, youknow, the highs and the lows
(11:46):
together.
SPEAKER_03 (11:47):
And uh, what do you think you've learned about
yourselves being, I know you'rea young family, balancing that
work life uh, you know, leveragethere.
What do you think you've learnedabout yourself since becoming
store owners, business owners?
SPEAKER_00 (12:00):
She's superwoman.
I'll tell you that.
I mean, from balancing, she alsois working nine to five.
We have we welcomed two kids uhsince taking over the store when
we were when we were moving thestore.
Uh she was eight months pregnantthere at 10 o'clock, putting
together gondola shelving.
But um, yeah, I mean, it's likeshe said, there's highs and
(12:22):
lows, and it's a 24-7 job.
You know, we're open seven daysa week.
We have staff that we care for alot, and we're there for them
when they need something, ifthey have questions.
Um yeah, it's it's we've learneda lot and it's showing how I
feel like tough and resilient wecan be.
Yeah.
Yeah.
unknown (12:39):
That's great.
SPEAKER_03 (12:40):
Yeah.
And uh love also, Tiffany,seeing you kind of stepping up
and helping serve within thecity of Walker on our downtown
development authority that's uhthat takes care of that downtown
of Standale.
You're a business owner inStandale.
What do you hope to kind of gainout of that experience?
SPEAKER_02 (12:54):
Yeah, I mean, I think I I just feel very
fortunate to be able to beinvolved and to be able to um,
you know, not only be hearingabout what we're doing, but also
potentially have a voice in inthe direction that we go
because, you know, it impacts usas a business, but it also
impacts um us as communitymembers and and you know, all of
(13:15):
our family and friends that arein the area.
And so um, yeah, it's just beenreally exciting and I'm I'm
really looking forward tocontinuing to work with the
group.
SPEAKER_03 (13:23):
Yeah, it's a unique dynamic that you have.
And so for people who areinterested in learning more
about the Cilianos, wanting tostep uh stop on by, check out
the inventory, maybe even getinto the craft brewing, their
home brewing, what's the thebest way for them to get started
and check you guys out?
SPEAKER_00 (13:39):
The best way is stopping in and talking to us in
person.
I mean, we're available overphone calls, obviously, too, to
to tell you more about our storeand answer your questions, but
the in-person experience um istop-notch.
Like I said, our staff, um,Katie, Beckett, Alex, and
Jackson are all willing and wantto help and really expand
(14:04):
Sicilianos and keep that goingand expand our customer growth.
SPEAKER_02 (14:08):
So yeah, and I think coming in, it's our best way of
understanding what it is thatsomeone wants, and then we can
kind of tailor what ourrecommendations are from there.
You know, like we have peoplecome in that are interested in
winemaking and maybe they're alittle hesitant.
So it's like, we'll start withkits as opposed to like doing
grapes.
And um, similarly, there's justso many resources that we can
(14:30):
connect people with, especiallyum in the homebrew community
with how many different homebrewclubs, like we we really try to
support them and um increasetheir membership.
So if there's people that areactually really interested in in
craft beer and and brewing, thenwe can connect them with the
local club.
SPEAKER_00 (14:48):
Which we do have our uh so we have a Cisciano's
homebrew competition every year.
There's 150 entries, which isawesome, and there's like BJCP
certified judges.
Um, shout out to all thehomebrew club members that make
that happen and judge andsteward with us.
Um, but on May 2nd this year,Saturday, uh, we have Big Brew
Day at Trailpoint.
We partner with them.
So there's gonna be usually 15to 20 homebrew club member teams
(15:11):
brewing on site, and then weannounce the winner of the
competition.
But that's another way to umlearn from us, but also the
homebrew community itself.
Like they're on site uh handingout their homebrews they make,
but also making and answeringquestions.
Uh so we appreciate uh Jeff andGary uh allowing us to partner
with them to allow us to havethat event as well.
SPEAKER_03 (15:33):
A lot of support if you want to get into this.
You know, we always oh go ahead.
SPEAKER_00 (15:37):
That was very cool to uh kind of backtracking a
little bit with the legacy thatSteve and Barb built, but it's
also very awesome and cool tosee all the breweries that
started because of it.
Um, yeah, a lot of the the uhthe mitten uh trailpoint
archival, those are all peoplethat started as homebrewers from
our shop.
(15:58):
So that's awesome to see.
And there's there's many morethan that, too.
SPEAKER_03 (16:01):
But that's a great story of just seeing that and
their success now, all becausethose Sicilianos.
That's incredible.
You know, we talk about havingexperiences in communities, and
your store is that adestination, a place to go, a
place to learn, and to justcultivate relationships.
And who knows?
So, Dan and Tiffany, incrediblework you guys are doing.
We are so grateful that you'repart of Walker Community.
(16:24):
Yes.
Thank you so much for beingpart, of course.
Yes.
And we thank you for tuning inas well.
SPEAKER_01 (16:29):
Thank you for joining us for this episode of
the Maiden Walker Podcast.
If you have comments orquestions about this podcast, or
if you have suggestions forfuture episodes, we'd love to
hear from you.
Please drop us an email atpodcast at walker.city.
Maiden Walker is the officialpodcast of the city of Walker,
Michigan.
(16:49):
You can find Maiden Walkerwherever you get your podcasts.
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