Wine-Store Owner Calls Rainier Home

Jerry Banchero owner Mondo's World

Accomplishment: This wine shop on Rainier Avenue South houses one of Seattle's most-respected wine experts: Jerry Banchero.

Banchero, 54, can trace the roots of Mondo's World wine shop to 1925, when his uncle, Ed Banchero, started a wine-and-meat store called E & E Meats in the Rainier Valley.

Jerry's father, Mondo, bought the store in 1946 and changed the name to Mondo's Meats. Mondo's Meats, next door to Mondo's World, is run by Jerry's brothers, Lou and Dave Banchero. Mondo's World opened in 1969.

Today, Jerry Banchero says wine aficionados from all over the state come to his store for premium wines they can't find anywhere else. Some sit at the three-stool wine bar and sample wines before they buy. Shelves of wine, much of it obscure labels, crowd the tiny store. Banchero holds wine tastings daily.

Banchero relishes meeting the customers, vinters and others in the wine business.

He says Mondo's hasn't been the most lucrative business - Banchero won't say how much he earns - but he says it is fun, which is more important to him than money.

He says he competes with bigger stores, which can carry more selections, and the state liquor stores, which can sometimes beat him on price, by being knowledgeable about how to combine different wines and foods.

Quote: "The wine industry has exploded in the past few years. I'll bet there are 100,000 different wineries, or more, around the world. My goal is to be a lighthouse-in-the-dark for people."

Secret: Perseverance has been the key, he says. There have been times he has wanted to move out of Rainier Valley, but he has stuck it out where he is. "There hasn't been a day go by, that someone doesn't say: `You're the right business in the wrong place.' Maybe that's true. But I want to stay and keep working against the obstacles."

Setback: He says enticing people to come to the Rainier Valley; battling perceptions that the area is dangerous, or a high-crime area, has been the biggest obstacle to overcome. "I've had a lot of wine tastings. I've planted a lot of seeds that I hope will grow into business. It's a matter of convincing people that their perceptions are wrong."

Reported by Times business reporter Tim Healy.