COLLEGE STATION, Texas — If you look around the Bryan-College station area, you'll probably see lots of restaurants, sports bars, and other eateries in the area. It is Aggieland, after all.
However one business owner wanted to create her own unique space geared towards women.
In 2009, Bryan woman Melba Tucker opened Downtown Uncorked, a wine bar that has become a safe space for women to relax and decompress from daily life.
However, when the world shut down three years ago due to COVID, it was a tough transition for everyone, including Tucker. However, she said that being being surrounded by female entrepreneurs made the journey easier.
"It stabbed me in the heart, you know you wake up one day and the governor has declared all restaurants and bars closed," said Tucker. "Now I no longer had a way to paycheck nor pay bills. Having two female entrepreneurs on either side of me has been a tremendous help. It gives you somebody who understand what you're going through as far as hours, business."
Additionally, she's also challenging the misconceptions people make about how women become entrepreneurs.
"Unfortunately for probably 90% of us women entrepreneurs it was almost 100% us. It was our blood, sweat, and tears, and money that opened our businesses," said Tucker.
Uncorked is even kid-friendly with a patio for moms and other patrons who want to bring their kids along to the bar after a long day. You get to try different wines, whiskeys, and just decompress.
In the midst of celebrating the complexities that make women who they are, she's ultimately happy to create a safe relaxing space for other ladies to be free.