Coco Noir Wine shop & Bar
In Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District, a focus on BIPOC and women-owned wine brands.
- By Priyanka Khole
- March 2021
Raising a Glass to Black and Women Wine Makers
A minority-owned urban wine shop and online store located in downtown Oakland, CA aspires to be the place where wine lovers of all levels can enjoy a glass and purchase their favorite bottles while being immersed in a vibrant community culture. Coco Noir will offer a platform and a space for winemakers of color and women producing amazing wines and also expose those wines to an amazing demographic of people by providing a rich cultural and global experience through amazing wines, foods, and art.
Alicia Kidd, a wine distributor and having launched her previous company The Wine Noire in 2017 was noticing the steady rise of Oakland in the national culinary scene. Marie Kemp, a San Francisco native with a successful career in tech and real estate investment, wanted to create a place where people could feel comfortable to be themselves while also enjoying the fruits of the community, of local arts as well as global libations. Together, they envision Coco Noir to be a disruptor in the wine industry by offering a place where wine lovers of all levels can enjoy a glass and purchase their favorite bottles while being immersed in a vibrant community culture.
Meet Alicia Kidd and Marie Kemp, Bay Area natives and co founders of Coco Noir Wine Shop and Bar that is slated to open in Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District.
A wine experience across multiple channels
Although the current pandemic has dealt a small blow to their plans, the tech savvy founders kept forging ahead by offering virtual wine tasting sessions and educating their audience. While pursuing corporate partnerships and hosting virtual events, they have now potentially unravelled a new business opportunity to complement their retail bar and store in Oakland.
Alicia and Mari truly understand how wine can influence the way in which people experience their days and evenings, the way friends meet, the way families share, and the way people celebrate and want to bring a sense of social impact and justice to our happy hours.
Through their establishment and their e-commerce experience, Kidd and Kemp hope to take you on a delectable journey of discovery and desire that will elevate wine to an experience that can be enjoyed every day.
Raising the Glass … and Funding for a Big Vision
Looking ahead, Coco Noir envisions a franchise business model with locations opening nationwide in culturally diverse neighborhoods. This along with the development of their app, an entire ecommerce ecosystem to complement and augment retail offerings is strategic to ensure continued and exponential business growth.
Since launching their Wefunder campaign last year, Kidd and Kemp have secured investments of well over $100k from over 250 investors and micro-investors, who are excited to be a part of this social justice movement and want to do their part in bringing community and culture together one wine bottle at a time.
Coco Noir has opened their seed funding round to all community members, independent of wealth level, with investment levels starting at $100.