Talisa Proctor remembers her hands shaking and genuinely questioning whether she was dreaming in late August when hospitality expert and “Bar Rescue” star Jon Taffer appeared at the door of her boutique wine bar and tasting room in downtown Taunton, Massachusetts.
Proctor interrupted tears of joy to greet him with “I cannot believe this,” before Taffer presented her with a $100,000 check and named Talisa’s on Main the winner of the third annual Shift4 Rescue Mission contest.
Talisa Proctor is the founder of Talisa’s on Main, a Massachusetts wine bar selected as the winner of the third annual Shift4 Rescue Mission contest.
The prize, Proctor said in an interview with Food On Demand, represented a “lifeline” for her nearly three-year-old business, which is the only Black-woman-owned wine bar in New England. Not only did the grant provide her with a chance to revamp her business, attend to maintenance issues and address staffing shortages, but the contest awarded her in-person consultations with Taffer—the host of the TV show she studied intently before opening her restaurant after pivoting careers.
“This gives me a chance to reinvent myself, which I’ve been trying to do,” Proctor said. “I want to freshen up my menu. I want to actually work on my business and not work in my business, because right now, I’m just working in it just to get through the day.”
Additionally, the contest provided Talisa’s on Main with three years of Shift4 Dine, a comprehensive restaurant technology platform. Proctor admitted that the tech stack was far from her area of expertise as a first-time restaurateur juggling the endless to-do lists familiar to seasoned operators.
“Not coming from a restaurant background, I’ve never worked in a restaurant, never managed or owned [one],” Proctor said. “So, this was the first experience, and I honestly didn’t realize how important those [tech stack] things are—having the right [point-of-sale] system, getting people in and out quickly, less clicks [and] all the things that I knew from a customer experience being in HR.”
Talisa’s on Main is the only Black-woman-owned wine bar in New England, according to owner Talisa Proctor.
With three years of experience managing the wine bar, Proctor said tech stack literacy is a skill she has gradually accumulated, one hard-earned lesson at a time. Still, she applied for the Shift4 contest “desperate” for marketing help and a financial boost to grow the business.
“Now I’m starting to evolve, like understanding what a POS [really does], what I need from it and what information it needs in order to do the reporting, so I can figure out how to grow my business and where the margins are—what is doing well, what’s not,” Proctor said.
While Proctor said she had a long list of topics she hoped to pick Taffer’s brain about ahead of their first consulting call September 14, she was particularly interested in hearing his ideas for improving the business.
“Meeting Talisa and hearing her story firsthand made it clear why Talisa’s on Main embodies the spirit of Rescue Mission,” Taffer said in a press release. “She has built a business that is deeply connected to her community, while navigating the very real challenges that come with running a small business. I’m excited to work alongside Talisa and Shift4 to help strengthen the business, build on what she’s created and position Talisa’s on Main for long-term success.”
Although Proctor said she lacked many technical skills and experience beneficial to spearheading a restaurant operation, she said artificial intelligence has proven to be a critical tool, especially on the marketing and off-premises event fronts.
“We do a lot of outdoor events, so some mobile bartending and mobile catering,” Proctor said. “We have private events here where we’ve created these packages, so AI helps me with that. Also, just daily check-ins to keep on top of everything. I get a daily briefing of emails that I’ve missed [and] things I need to follow up on. So, I am 100,000 percent [leveraging] AI.”
Talisa’s on Main’s menu features wines from woman-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned and small family wineries.
With Shift4 picking up the tech bill for the next few years and indicating a more hands-on approach to advising than her previous POS vendor, Proctor said winning the contest allowed her to breathe easier and focus on bringing creativity to the operation.
Even before the consultation with Taffer, Proctor said the contest had already proven successful in drawing in customers and generating excitement among guests. Talisa’s on Main intentionally brings a community-focused approach to its business, with a curated menu featuring wines from woman-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned and small family wineries, alongside small plates, wine-based cocktails, catering and a mobile bartending service for local events.
“Everyone knows,” Proctor said, referring to her community’s response to the Shift4 contest news. “They’ve posted it [and] reposted it. It’s been three weeks now, so people that I’m just starting to see again are so excited for me. My customers are coming in. We bought a lot of sparkling wine so we can celebrate.”
Proctor expressed optimism for the future of her wine bar, especially with a world-class consultant on her side and Shift4 ready to help with tech challenges.
Still, Proctor said if she had the opportunity to provide advice to herself before opening Talisa’s on Main in late 2023, she would suggest, “Hey, don’t overlook this tech feature. This is just as important as opening the doors every day.”
