The current economic recession is strangling businesses around the globe, but an operation with roots in Pickerington continues to flourish.

Craig and Laura Decker opened The Wine Guy Wine Shop in June 2005 with an eye to providing a stock of wine unparalleled locally in quality and quantity. They moved to a new space in the same shopping center on Clint Drive in Pickerington in January 2007 and began offering food to complement their wines.

The Reynoldsburg residents got into wine and food after Craig spent 30 years peddling soft drinks and other beverages to restaurants and vendors. He left that, he said, after growing to loathe the corporate world.

The moderately sized and priced cuisines available at The Wine Guy include tapas, salads, seafood and steaks, in an unpretentious setting harkening a rustic California bistro. Craig writes the menu, which he said is centered on simplicity and consistency.

The concept, which features 2,700 wine brands generally ranging from $10 to $47 a bottle and entrees from $7 to $16 at the 3,400-square-foot Pickerington locale, quickly caught on. Last fall, the Deckers opened a similarly sized Gahanna store, at 500 Creekside Plaza, which is also doing a brisk business.

"We are a fully operational wine shop with the largest stand-alone wine selection in the Columbus area," Craig Decker said. "We're also a fine-dining restaurant, but we take a lot of the pretentiousness and check it at the door. We want people to be comfortable and we think that's what allows us success."

According to Decker, sales at the stores have increased by 35 to 45 percent since the U.S. economy spiraled further downward last November.

"I think our business plan brought us more success in this economy than it would have if the economy had been doing better," he said. "Instead of spending $20 on an entre and taking some of it home, you're paying $10 or $11 and getting what you want. We also have lower wine prices than restaurants and a better selection.

"We've kind of geared ourselves, not knowing the economy was going to do what it was, for better value," he said. "You have two business models within a single store that do complement themselves very well, and nobody else is doing it."

The plan has spurred further expansion.

A 6,500-square-foot Wine Guy Market Place is slated to open within three months in Dublin. In addition to offering retail wine, a bar and bistro, the store will feature a coffee shop, deli, cheese shop, clothing, cigars, a florist and an olive oil bar to allow patrons to taste and purchase high-end olive oils.

Central Ohio shoppers aren't the only ones sold on the model. Last month, the Deckers signed a deal with Covington, Ky.-based Anchor Properties, developers of regional shopping centers and single-tenant retail parcels.

Through the partnership, Anchor will serve as the landlord to the Dublin store. Rather than seeking different tenants to fill the surrounding retail space, the company encouraged the Deckers to expand on their offerings at the store, which essentially will fill the roles of separate businesses.

Additionally, Anchor provided space for The Wine Guy Market Places in Grandview and Cincinnati, and a wine store, bar and bistro in downtown Columbus.

As is the case with the Pickerington, Gahanna and Dublin stores, each new store will feature wooden tables, bars and wine racks handcrafted by Decker. Jazz music is piped in.

"You're transcended someplace you weren't when you walk through the door," Decker said. "We spend more time worrying about the customer. We give them education and then put them in front of a selection that they might like."

The new stores are expected to open this year. Decker estimated the move will raise his enterprise's annual sales from the approximately $680,000 generated in the first year of business at his Pickerington location, to about $7-million.

In the near future, those sales are likely to grow. Decker said he's working with Anchor to create a franchise package for his enterprise, and a stand-alone Pickerington store could be in the works.

"There aren't too many things that start in suburban America and get to where we're going," Decker said.

nellis@thisweeknews.com