Jennifer McDonald, the founder of Jenny Dawn Cellars, has made history as the first African-American entrepreneur to open an urban winery that offers handcrafted wine in Wichita, Kansas. Still, she has also recorded landmark achievements as the owner of the first black-owned winery in the entire state.
After learning via her own consumer market research about the demand for access to great wine in their city, Jennifer established the company with her family in 2016. She wanted to concentrate on servicing individuals in the cities, even if most vineyards are in rural areas. More than 600,000 people live in Wichita and the surrounding communities.
Her research convinced her to restore the Union Station in Wichita, where she decided to build the winery. The construction took twice as long and cost twice as much as originally expected, but she managed to push through it with her determination.
Jennifer disclosed that she was not at all exempt from the systemic racism that has sadly become common for black people while starting their own businesses. She experienced several rejections from banks before finally finding a bank that would finance her idea.
She says, however, that she is thankful for the support system she got from her investors and business and wine-making mentors. She was able to overcome problems with their help and guidance.
Last November, she finally opened Jenny Dawn Cellars Winery. It has facilities such as a tasting room, an event venue, and on-site wine production. They also offer private wine tastings, wine locker memberships, and monthly educational classes called Winuecation. So far, Jenny Dawn Cellars has offered 11 handcrafted wines, most of them paying tribute to her Wichita roots.
