South Lake Tahoe gourmet shop celebrates 35 years

For those born after 1976, the Cork and More is older than they are. The specialty food and wine shop recently celebrated a milestone, marking its thirty-fifth year in business last month. From a small wine and cheese shop to a complete culinary business, the store has grown and changed over the years to offer the consumer gourmet food, products and accessories for the kitchen and the table.
Need some wine for a dinner party, and the glassware to go with it? How about a quick appetizer for your holiday feast? Getting married? Find the food and cake all in one place – The Cork and More.
It all began when owner Jim Warlow was working as the sommelier – or the more modest term “wine steward,” as he prefers — at the Christiana Inn during the beginning of the “burgeoning California wine scene,” said Warlow. “I decided the town could use a wine shop, a little deli, a kind of Napa style market in the mountains.”

The store started in a small, 500-square-foot space on Ski Run Boulevard where Blue Angel is now located. “My partner lasted about three months and then Kim bailed me out,” said Warlow of his now-wife. The couple happened to meet on Kim’s first day in town. “We were both big skiers,” she said.
After a few years in business, the couple opened a store in Tahoe City. “It was a little bigger, we took the opportunity to expand,” said Warlow.
After running both for more than a decade, the couple closed the Tahoe City store in 1992 “and moved all our energy to South Lake Tahoe,” said Jim. The couple transferred to their current location next to the main post office in 1994.
By that time, the South Lake Tahoe store was significantly larger than when the couple started and over the years has expanded to include: the deli, with catering, food to go, wedding cakes and special “benchmark” treats, said Jim, such as the three-pound chocolate chip cookie; unusual spices; kitchen utensils and accessories; a beer collection personally selected by Jim; jams, jellies, mustards and other condiments and sauces; an international selection of cheeses; a “splash” of coffee and tea; dishware, glassware and cutlery; and, of course, wine.
The store has evolved in two ways, said Jim and Kim. First, the couple travels far and wide and tries to incorporate the culinary delights they encounter into the store. Secondly, said Jim, “as people’s tastes change, the store changes.” For example, with the economic downturn, the store has reduced its number of $100 wines and increased the number of $20 bottles.
Despite the struggling economy, business was strong this past holiday season. “The business came from a massive combo,” said Jim. “Locals, second homeowners, visitors.”
Internet marketing and sales through its website — www.thecorkandmore.com are the “next level” for the store, said Kim. Look out Williams - Sonoma.