Wine, rock ’n’ roll and a new beginning — Standing Stone Wines to open this week

Standing Stone owner, Lily Sickles, in her soon-to-open Winooski storefront

Clouds cast a gloom over the Winooski rotary, and the air had a bite to it. Through tall windows on the eastern side of Main Street, came a warm light. Industrial chandeliers, hanging from a high ceiling, illuminated a mostly empty space of white paint cans on a bare concrete floor. 

A dusty CD-player sat next to a stack of discs, ‘Tom Petty’s Greatest Hits” among them

Tall wooden shelves held nothing but three black-and-white family photos.  A dusty CD-player sat next to a stack of discs, ‘Tom Petty’s Greatest Hits” among them. A bright purple-and-white flag of the Hiawatha Wampum tribe, a Native American-style printed rug and a freshly painted red sofa added to the array of decorative items that all had significance to the woman seated among them.

“My name is Lily Sickles,” she said, her lips as bright red as the sofa. She had an ’80s rockstar look, tinged with a Vermont vibe after more than a decade in the state, with short frosted hair slicked back and a worn jean jacket over a plaid buttoned shirt. In her red-paint-stained shoes, she stood up to greet visitors with a contagious smile and arms open wide. 

Sickles is the founder and owner of Standing Stone Wines, the newest business on the rotary, at 33 Main St., which plans to open this Wednesday, November 15. The space previously stood empty, except for a few pop-ups in recent years. “It’ll be like the punk rock wine store,” Sickles said. “Not a fancy place, but a place for everybody to come and have a good time.”

With Standing Stone Wines, Sickles aims to distinguish herself by keeping her selection affordable and accessible. The shop will specialize in wines priced between $10 and $20 from all over the world, as well as a range of less and more expensive options. 

“It’s for fun and to be delicious,” she said. “It shouldn’t be pretentious or snobby.”

It’s not that other wine sellers intend to have that attitude, she added. “It’s just the nature it’s become.” 

The newest business on the rotary, at 33 Main St., plans to open this Wednesday, November 15

On a mission to demystify the practice of wine drinking, Sickles’ store will have a section labeled, “What’s for dinner?” The sign will display a diverse set of cuisines, each partnered with a list of variously priced wines that pair well with the meal. Whether customers plan to eat Asian food or barbeque, Sickles said, she likes that she can help customers find wines that they love in a comfortable and inviting environment. 

The shop will also provide nonalcoholic beverages and local craft beer. And in early 2024, Sickles said, she hopes to add a wine, beer and mocktail bar and host wine classes — which would require an additional license from the state Division of Liquor Control.

Well versed in both wine and rock 'n’ roll, Sickles started working various jobs in hospitality but followed her passions to New York City, where she played guitar and sang in numerous bands while completing Andrea Immer Robinson’s professional wine program at the French Culinary Institute, taught by several masters of wine. She worked as a wine buyer in New York and Burlington, training others to sell wine. She was a restaurant general manager and owned her own bar, Ten Eleven, in the East Village of Manhattan. 

“My number one goal was to be a rockstar,” Sickles, a musician for more than 30 years, said with a degree of both humbleness and swagger. “My number two goal was to open a wine store, and that’s working out for me.”

Her dreams were put on pause in 2019, when Sickles was diagnosed with lymphoma. After treatment, her cancer returned in June 2021, when Sickles and her doctors at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston decided to try CAR T-Cell therapy — a cancer treatment that is hoped to have less severe side effects and complications than radiation and chemotherapy. By September, just three months after starting the treatment, she was cancer free and back to work at Doggie Styles Pet Grooming in Colchester. 

During those challenging years, Sickles said, the outpouring of support from her mother, coworkers and close friends, as well as strangers and community members, inspired her to go after her lifelong goal of opening a wine store. 

As important to her as bringing wine to Winooski, she said, she plans to support LGBTQ+, BIPOC and local artists by selling their works alongside indigenous crafts made by family members and friends. Sickles is a member of the Oneida Nation — the store’s name honors the Oneida, whose members are also referred to as the People of the Standing Stone. 

Sickles plans to donate to a new indigenous cause each month. With Thanksgiving coming up, she said, she wants the first group to be the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance, a nationwide organization that promotes and strengthens Native American food systems that support health and wellness, education and sustainable economic development.

“I was given a chance,” she said, referring to the support she received during and after cancer. “So I want to give other people a chance too.”

Megan Hoffman worked with Sickles at the Burlington restaurant A Single Pebble and has known her for about 10 years. “I think for everybody who knows Lily, we're immensely proud of her,” Hoffman said.

Megan Hoffman, a colleague of Sickles, with her young son

Her voice grew shaky. “She was diagnosed with cancer and that was a big blow to all of her community, and she just kept her chin up every step of the way, even when she relapsed,” Hoffman continued. “We’re just so happy that she’s doing this because a lot of people have dreams that they never realize because they’re just too big or too scary or too hard. And she’s just going for it, and I think she’ll kill it.” 

Hoffman and her young son came into the unfinished shop on that gloomy Monday to talk with Sickles about the wine club that they hope to begin after Standing Stone Wines opens. They chatted about the bathroom floor Sickles had just finished the day before. From the updated bathroom to the hand-painted walls and red sofa, the 54-year-old rockstar renovated the entire 1,422 square feet herself,  with the help of a few friends. 

Sickles also expressed gratitude to the extensive guidance she got from her real estate agent, Esther Lotz, and loans from the city and the Justice Forward Fund, which provides financing options for marginalized communities. She also credits what she learned about operating a business to the entrepreneurial courses at Mercy Connections in Burlington.

Sickles first looked at a site for the shop in the Old North End of Burlington before Lotz found the Winooski spot, which the wine connoisseur considers perfect, she said. “I love Winooski, the diversity and community here.”

As if starting a new business and refurbishing the space with a recovering immune system weren’t enough, Sickles still finds the energy to practice and perform with her two local bands: the So n Sos and Dad?! To the latter group name, she added “and Lil” with a smile. Music “works better than therapy,” she said jokingly. 

She performed with both bands for the Standing Stone Wines opening party on November 11,  at the Monkey House, across the rotary in Winooski. She’ll play music until she can’t anymore, Sickles added. 

With her rockstar dream realized and cancer behind her, Sickles said she is excited for this next dream to begin at the store in Winooski. 

A photo of Sickles’ father as a boy wits above the wine shelves of Standing Stone

If she could share a wine tasting with anyone, Sickles said, after giving it some thought, “my dad first, because I think he’d be really proud of this business and me.” Sickles’ father, who died years ago, strengthens her connection with her native heritage, she said. The next person at the wine tasting, she continued, would be Joey Ramone, “because he’s my favorite rockstar and would just be fun,” she said, laughing at the thought. Unlike Sickles, he lost his battle with lymphoma.

With the store about to open, the smell of paint has subsided and bottles have filled up the empty shelves. Sickles’ family photos now hang on the wall and the red couch has moved out of the center of the room, but the woman with the wide smile and bright red lips is still there, with her arms wide open and wine ready to share.

“I’m taking big chances,” Sickles said. “I’ve spent all the money I have in the world.”

Now, Sickles said, she finds it more important to spend her time following her passion to share wine with Winooski. 

For more information, visit: www.standingstonewinesvt.com/