Renovations have been moving along quickly at Cork on Saginaw, and the owners are ready to hire.
A new bistro and wine bar is just about ready to pop the cork in downtown Flint. Marge Murphy is the owner and chef. "I'm very excited, and all I want to do is get in that kitchen and cook."
Cork on Saginaw expects to open its doors at 635 South Saginaw Street by the end of this month. Right now, applications are being accepted on the restaurant's Facebook page for 12 jobs.
"Experienced bartenders, servers that know quality service and have some wine knowledge. We need a few more people in the kitchen: a prep cook, looking for that kind of stuff," General Manager Darci Racette said.
Cork is located in the old Dial Finance building. It was built in 1932 and has been empty for over 25 years. Murphy admits there have been a few obstacles during the renovation. "There's been some interesting things come up, but we've worked through it. The building has been restored to where it was years ago. It's pretty much historically correct."
Debris has already been removed to make way for an outdoor patio in the lot next door. Opening a new business in a tight economy has been a challenge, but the owners have found a few creative solutions.
"My husband's gotten very good at auctions, so we've saved some money here and there," Murphy said.
When Cork on Saginaw opens up, the plan is to offer a full selection of beer and liquor, along with 60 different wines. In the future, Murphy hopes to bump that number up to over 100. The goal is to offer great wines with no attitude.
"We're not going to be pretentious. No wine snobs. No wine snobbery," Murphy promised.
