Black Enterprise is shining a light on the challenges that Jenny McDonald, owner of Jenny Dawn Cellars, an urban winery, has had to overcome to build her business. She founded her business in 2016 with her family and it has grown from the dream of an at-home winemaker into Wichita’s first urban winery startup.
As a Black woman starting a business in the wine industry, she experienced the effects of institutional and systemic racism while building and growing her business. She received major pushback with her business model in addition to challenges financing her business. In November 2019, they proudly opened its doors as a tasting room, event venue, and on-site wine production facility. Her perseverance and reason behind starting her business kept her on track and focused on the end goal.
“A lot of people did not initially believe in my vision or my abilities to start and run my business,” she says. “Through performance, I have been able to turn naysayers into supporters.”
Read more about Jenny’s journey to opening the first urban winery in Wichita, Kansas.
For more inspiring stores, check out our profile of Brewer Celeste Beatty, and how she’s putting change on tap in her Harlem brewery.
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