Editor's Note: In honor of National Small Business Week, libn.com is profiling one small business a day on Long Island. First up, the smallest business of them all.
- A luxurious bathroom featuring a petrified wood vanity sink and pebble path leading to a two-person steam shower."As a kid growing up in Indiana, I was always climbing up in the oak trees, swinging from grape vines and being my happiest taking in nature," Riley said. "The Tree House would be as romantic as an iconic childhood getaway. We knew our guests, new and old, would love it. It would cast a secretive spell on a generation of adults, truly living up to its motto, 'Taking Romance to New Heights.'"- A custom tile and iron fireplace.McDonald has also branched out her business into hosting wine parties, a good way to spread the word about Down the Rabbit Hole, since she stopped doing traditional advertising after her first year and now relies on word of mouth to bring in business. For a party, a group buys a case of wine, and McDonald will come and lecture on the grapes that go into a particular bottle.Rates for Highland Haven Creekside Inn's Tree House are $475 per night Sundays-Thursdays, and $550 per night Fridays and Saturdays.Walking into Down the Rabbit Hole is like squeezing through a narrow corridor surrounded on all sides by organic, artisanal and some local Long Island wines. The wines are organized by taste, rather than region, the wine shop standard.IF YOU GOMcDonald, the only full-time employee who started the business when she was 23, opted to organize that way because the different regions and vast varieties of wine tend to intimidate customers. She breaks out the about 100 wines she carries into flavors like fruit- forward or earthy-toned and encourages customers to think about what they like, rather than names such as Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon.Opening a wine shop in a former storage closet on Main Street in Sayville first helped Suzanne McDonald keep overhead costs down.
"The quirk is the selling point," McDonald said of Down the Rabbit Hole. "It's so tiny, and it's such a novelty, and people enjoy it."
Author: Jessica DiNapoli
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