Dante’s opened earlier this month. Elaine Kutas | Collegian
A Dante-themed store for wine and fine liquor opened earlier this month as the first of a three-part transformation of 55 N. Broad Street.
Dante’s Purgatorio Fine Wine and Spirits Shop is the first of three stores to open, while Paradiso — the wine pub — and Inferno — the cigar lounge — are still under construction, according to John Biscaro ’22. The “Divine Comedy”-inspired liquor store is the first of a three-part transformation of the Broad Street Market that Biscaro and general manager Joel Shull are leading under the direction of Luke Robson’s ’17 Hillsdale Renaissance LLC.
“We’re trying to transform the store from a convenience store to a more specialty shop, aesthetically at least,” Shull said. “Downstairs was a nightclub, which culturally was just an afterthought place, but it will become a cigar lounge with a full bar and a humidor for cigar sales, and the bar next door will be the wine pub. The idea with the wine pub is that it becomes a place where couples can come and have appetizers and share a bottle of wine.”
Each of the three parts will work together to create a social atmosphere perfect for a romantic outing, private conversations, or a destination for people from surrounding areas, according to Shull.
“Luke and his team are really trying to make Hillsdale a place that’s very move-in-ready for families that either want to move back if they went to Hillsdale College or want a nice small town,” Biscaro said. “We have the necessities with Meijer, Walmart, and Kroger, and then we want to be able to offer the amenities: places to go for a date night on a Friday night, a spot to have a cigar with some buddies, things like that.”
Purgatorio offers a wide range of fine liquor, craft beer, and wine, including 120 new labels. They are also working with David Bruce Winery, an estate vineyard and winery owned by Hillsdale College in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, to become a primary retailer. Shull and Biscaro said they hope to strengthen their relationship with the college by curating event wine lists, including the Parents Weekend wine tasting.
“We would love to partner with the college and design wine lists for different events, do more tastings, and do things like that,” Biscaro said. “They have wine at their events, and we’d love to help make that more curated and more specialty.”
As a wider part of the Hillsdale Renaissance project, hospitality is where Shull hopes to shine.
“I love that I have the ability to provide an opportunity for people just to enjoy themselves and to be able to do that in town,” Shull said.
Another local small business owner downtown, Wayne Babcock, said he sees Hillsdale’s revitalization as much needed. According to Babcock, when he and his four business partners began brainstorming what would become Ethan’s Donut Factory, they saw a need in the community that had to be filled.
“We got together two or three years ago when we noticed a lot of empty buildings in the downtown area,” Babcock said. “We all grew up here. We’re Hillsdale people, so we decided to do something downtown that’s unique and different, that people will appreciate, and that will give back to the community. Ethan’s Donut Factory is that place we decided to open.”
Although Ethan’s Donut Factory is not owned by Robson, Babcock said he finds Robson’s mission admirable. According to Babcock, the town’s culture is conducive to small businesses.
“All the businesses downtown, from Dante’s to Big Pine Brewery to Ethan’s, we all become one,” Babcock said. “We get to know each other and our customers.”
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