Uncorking a Dream in Lakeland
PHOTOS BY JORDAN RANDALL
Whether you’re sitting inside her welcoming, sophisticated Dixieland establishment or guests are just about to arrive for a highly anticipated gathering at your home, Lisa Brophy wants you to be able to enjoy the finest accouterments, wines, meats and cheeses often reserved for affluent world travelers.
The Fort Meade High School graduate has worked in the food and beverage industry for decades, made countless memories that involved a good bottle of wine and has a tender spot in her heart for cheese shops that emerged when she lived in the Northeast.
Her late mother, Bets, often told Lisa that she should open a wine bar with an assortment of curated food pairings, but it wasn’t until 2023 that she started seriously pursuing the opportunity after moving back to Lakeland from California when a friend sent her a text.
“A friend sent me a picture of a ‘For Lease’ sign outside the building [Petals Flower Shoppe] had been in and I couldn’t believe it,” she recalls. “For a long time I thought Lakeland wasn’t ready for something like this or I didn’t have the experience…but at this time, the stars aligned and the opportunity presented itself in this lovely city.”
When you walk into the The Wine Garden, located along South Florida Avenue between Bright Ice and By the Chef Pizza, the natural light floods into a space where you will find an impressive selection of cheeses like marinated sheep and goat cheese or le fromager double cow from France, meats such as Spotted Trotter Georgia Blue Salami or prosciutto, caviar and more.
Customers have quickly fallen in love with The Wine Garden’s “Fresh Cut-to-order Charcuterie Board” option. Along with fine meats and cheeses, crackers, nuts, pickles and other vegetables make for delicious custom spreads that pair well with a glass of wine and are perfect for customers to purchase to take home and enjoy.
The wine selection includes more than 500 offerings, including many from small, family owned producers who provide people with a sense of the regions the drinks hail from. There is a large selection of wines under $50 and a great variety also in the $50 to $100 range.
By the end of 2025 The Wine Garden will unveil the temperature controlled wine cave, a space dedicated to higher pedigree and more collectible wines that will allow customers to experience bottles of wine similar to what Brophy has fallen in love with on trips across the globe.
“We also have an extensive by-the-glass list at our wine bar,” Brophy says. “On top of that, our wide variety of meats, cheeses and accouterments that you can purchase in the retail space are in the rotation on our menu.”
The business also serves homemade quiches, artisan sandwiches, salads, a variety of craft beers and nonalcoholic
drink options.
For those unfamiliar with spots like Brophy’s, the owner is educating customers on the $25 uncorking fee that accompanies any bottle of wine opened and served on-site. She said that while restaurants traditionally mark up bottles of wine by 300 to 400 percent, her prices are in line with retail establishments, so a $90 bottle of wine consumed at The Wine Garden is $115 all in compared to $300 or more for the same bottle at a restaurant—and it ensures her staff is properly compensated.
“The quality of what we are selling here is higher than what people are used to,” Brophy says. “I try to keep the prices as affordable and lean as possible. The principal ethos of this place is quality and service…
I want people to come here and feel seen and feel appreciated.”
She plans on hosting unique tasting events that showcase the foods and drinks of different regions around the world, and she is proud to have a seasoned team to provide customers a consistent top-of-the-line experience, including general manager Todd Kercher.
Although her mother and father passed away before she opened The Wine Garden, she is proud to honor their memory by connecting the community in this newly refined space.
“I feel their spirit and love every time I walk through the door and hope that everyone else does too.”