Meet the father and son duo who turned a negative into a positive and went on to open two successful bottle shops in the north-east.
Founders of Fountainhall Wines, Jim and Steve McQueen, have decades worth of experience in the drinks industry between them.
Having both previously worked for the Threshers drinks retailer chain, the duo were forced into finding a new way of making income after the downfall and closure of the company, something that Steve considers a blessing in disguise.
He said: “My mum (Jackie), dad (Jim) and I had already been working for the Threshers chain and in 2009 they went into administration – all of the Wine Racks, Threshers and Haddows shops had to close.
“Although it was so difficult at the time, in a bizarre way it has ended up being one of the best things that could have happened to us because we decided to open as an independent off-licence.
“In 2010, we were backed by a former customer of ours who offered to put the funds in to get the shop back up and running. He was completely hands-off and really let us run the business as our own.
“We worked away together for years, and then were extremely fortunate to be able to completely buy the business ourselves in September 2017, making us a 100% independent family business.
“My dad and I now have one shop on Fountainhall Road in Aberdeen, which dad manages, and another on Market Square in Stonehaven that I manage. The second store opened in 2013.”
Unlikely partnership
Steve and Jim have spent more than a decade building up a fantastic reputation for their shops, which boast a wealth of spectacular wines, beers, gins and whiskies from the likes of New Zealand, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
But despite the brand’s success, Steve explained that he never envisioned working with his dad.
“I started working in the off-license trade when I turned 18,” he said.
I can’t imagine running the business with anyone else.”
Steve McQueen
“I had worked in restaurants beforehand and after years of saying that I would never work with my dad, I realised that I could actually have a better social life working with him – being able to ask him for particular days off.
“I fell into the trade by accident really. I just wanted a part-time job to keep me going while I was studying, but here we are 13 plus years of working together.
“I can’t imagine running the business with anyone else. As dad slowly approaches retirement, then I guess that is something that we will have to get our heads around somehow. But knowing him, I can’t see him fully stepping back anytime soon.”
Jim added: “I know for some the idea of working with a family member would be a nightmare but for us, it just works. There are no arguments, no stress and we have got each other’s backs.
“I think the best thing about working together is that it does actually make work more enjoyable. We bounce off of each other and actually have a really good relationship because of work.”
Equal workload
Despite verging on retirement, Jim assures that the pair share the same workload equally.
“We both work on everything,” he said.
“We are dealing with customers, arranging deliveries to customers, looking at ordering in stock, meeting with suppliers, dealing with deliveries that have arrived and completing the accounts – and occasionally managing to get to the kettle.
“There are two shops that require a lot of work. There’s no head office anywhere, just us, so no two days are the same and I do not think I’d want it any other way.
Steve said: “Although that does pose a challenge – family time equals business time.
“We do work a lot of hours and there are some points outside of the shops where work chat will creep into moments where they wouldn’t for other people – like the Christmas table or birthday parties.
“However, it does work both ways. Sometimes we’ll be on a call about work and then end up discussing something about the family.
“We also have an excellent team of eight sales assistants. Other than our teams in our shops, we are supported every day by both our partners at home.
We bounce off of each other and actually have a really good relationship because of work.”
Jim McQueen
“My mum worked with my dad in the Aberdeen shop for many years before being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Although she is no longer behind the counter serving customers, she still keeps us both in check.
“My partner Eleanore puts up with my sometimes unsociable working hours – days off are never truly days off – and she is always really supportive.”
Open for business
Off-licenses were classed as essential stores at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. However, both Jim and Steve decided to keep the doors of both stores closed until very recently.
Having to diversify their offering during the unprecedented period, the business owners launched a free home delivery service and continue to offer this today.
Jim said: “Off-licenses were classed as essential at the beginning of the pandemic (something that we certainly would not argue with), but it really didn’t sit well with us that the government was asking people to stay at home and for us to have our doors open for business as normal.
“We decided to close both shops and offered free home delivery for our customers instead.
“The pair of us are grateful that customers stuck with us and have supported us throughout the past 15 months.
“As the levels change, we are continuing to offer free home delivery but have cautiously worked to get back to normal and both shops are now open to the public.”
Steve added: “Looking ahead, the plan for the future really is to just keep going.
“My dad and I occasionally get asked about another shop, but we certainly have no plans for more shops. We were able to split ourselves over the two shops and that really is enough.
“Like most people, the pandemic has made us both look more and more at the constant work-life balancing act.”