Back in business! Cynthia Bailey is “grateful” that her Atlanta wine store, The Bailey Wine Cellar, is now open again after it was forced to close for several months because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta star, 53, took to Instagram on Saturday, June 13, to share how thrilled she was that her business is finally back up and running. “Atlanta wine lovers 🍷, the doors of @thebaileywinecellar are officially open!” she captioned a photo of herself and two employees wearing masks. “As a small black owned business, I am beyond grateful to still be standing during this challenging and stressful pandemic.”
The model added: “I truly appreciate my staff @mal_bailey & @famousdave87 for sticking it out with me. Thank you to our amazing customers, friends & family for always supporting us.”
Bailey concluded the touching post by encouraging her social media followers to support other small businesses, especially those with black owners. “We are all in this together 🤎,” she wrote, noting that her store, which opened in July 2019, now has new hours and will require all customers to wear face coverings.
In an earlier Instagram update also posted Saturday, Bailey sported a black mask as she stood inside her reopened store. The Alabama native quoted the Dalai Lama, writing, “Choose to be optimistic. It feels better.”
Though she’s obviously now back in Atlanta looking after her business, the Bravo star spent a good chunk of quarantine in Los Angeles with her fiancé, Mike Hill. In April, Bailey was honest about how the atypical living arrangement put pressure on her relationship with the 49-year-old sportscaster.
“We have been tested,” she admitted to Us Weekly exclusively at the time. “However, I was laughing because one of the things that I used to complain about being in a bicoastal relationship is spending quality time together. Well, this is quality [time].”
The reality star continued: “I didn’t mean morning, noon, night, breakfast, lunch, dinner. I didn’t mean the only time that we go out is to go to Costco. OK? I kind of had to eat my words on that since I’m eating everything else around here.”
Bailey regarded “not getting on each others’ nerves” to be the most challenging part about being in quarantine with the New York native. “I’m a space person, he’s a space person, we kind of know each other’s energy and I can tell when he needs a minute,” she shared. “He can tell when I need a minute.”
However, despite a few tense moments here and there, the Cynthia Bailey Eyewear creator insisted quarantine brought her and Hill “closer together.” She also assured Us that the duo have zero intentions of canceling their wedding, which is scheduled for October 10 — that is, unless, the social-distancing period is prolonged.
“Deposits have been made, that day’s still on. But I don’t know if we’re going to be able to keep it,” Bailey noted at the time. “We just have to see how long they’re going to extend this thing. Right now, it’s still on.”
Hill popped the question in July 2019 at the grand opening of The Bailey Wine Cellar. The sweet proposal was featured on an RHOA episode last year.
