Savor up front
Erik Holladay
Beer and Skittles owner Christine Horton poses with urns of different types of olive oil available for sampling at her store.
Beer and skittles is for the fun of food by
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s the saying goes, life’s not all beer and skittles, but neither is the merchandise in the Kalamazoo store that goes by that name. Beer and Skittles’ name translates roughly into “fun and games,” as “skittles” in this context refers to the British bowling game. Christine Horton, who owns the specialty food, beer and wine store at 1912 Whites Road, aims to put a little fun into daily life. “I think it’s really important to celebrate life every single day,” she says. Horton grew up in a food-loving family and, before opening her store, worked for many years in food businesses, including 12 years at Water Street Coffee Joint. A few years ago she was in a period of transition. “I had a really great job (at Water Street) but just wanted something different,” she says. Not sure what that might be, she started trying to identify her passion. “I really like grocery shopping, and I really like cooking,” she says, but her initial thought was, “That’s stupid. That’s not a passion.” But she kept coming back to those interests and realized that, when traveling, she liked going into food shops and discovering new products and brands. “Eventually I just thought, ‘You could do this in Kalamazoo.’” Horton had never planned to open her own business, but she took a class for entrepreneurs through the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center, creating a business plan in the process. With the support of her husband, David Mitchell, who co-owns the business, she opened Beer and Skittles in early 2012. The store now has four employees.
14 | EncorE summer 2013
Located behind the Oakwood Plaza, which is home to Sawall Health Foods and Pacific Rim Foods, and with D&W Fresh Market and Bacchus Wine and Spirits also nearby, Beer and Skittles is in a “food neighborhood.” This is a good thing, Horton says, because “people are coming here for the food already.” She believes the various food stores complement each other by offering different things. “It’s important to not get too caught up in being competitive and to really know yourself … and to focus on what you do well and keep your focus there.” Beer and Skittles’ niche is summed up in three words: “Food is fun.” Horton explains that the slogan “means a lot of different things to me. (Food is) both a part of every celebration, but it’s also a way to make any ordinary day special.” Her philosophy is also about accessibility: “Food is not intimidating, food is not scary, food is not stressful — food is fun!” Horton wants Beer and Skittles to be welcoming to people who are not as well versed in gourmet food as she is, so she tries to make it an enjoyable and easy place to shop. She chooses products based on what she loves, tries to stock brands that aren’t offered elsewhere in the area and carries only the best examples in any category. “Instead of having 20 brands of the same type of product (like chips), I’m going to have the two best chips there are,” she says. Similarly, Horton carries a small selection of what she calls “easy, awesome wines.” “It’s what I want in a wine store,” she says. “I’m not