CONVERSATIONS
35 January/February 2019 StPeteLifeMag.com
The couple relocated to
studied for and received
Masters as a Sommelier and
a Wine Professional. That
accomplished, they went
looking for a place to open
Wine Madonna.
“As a writer,” Radish smiles, “I
can live anywhere.”
The weather, of course,
attracted them to Florida.
“You’d have to be half blind
not to see that St. Petersburg
was going to go crazy. We
looked everywhere in this
area – we looked at Ybor,
looked at downtown Tampa,
we looked at Sarasota. St.
Pete was just humming. We
could tell.
“When we opened this bar
there was nothing here – a
few places here, a few there
– now you can’t walk three
feet without bumping into a
restaurant or a bar.”
business was feeling the heat
book-business model was
changing. Random House did
not renew her contract.
Birth of Wine Madonna
From its opening day in 2010,
Wine Madonna was also a
literary hub. The literature
group Wordier Than Thou is
based out of the bar, which is
also ground zero for Radish’s
annual literary retreats.
“I always say that Wine
Madonna is a social service
agency that sells wine,” she
claims. “I talk with people all
the time who are interested
in writing, and want to write
books. I’m honest, but I never
want to discourage anyone.
If that’s what your passion is,
then you have to do it.”
Radish herself has “never
stopped writing. And I’ve
since I’ve been here.” She
publishes through SparkPress.
Both of her now-adult
children eventually moved
to the bay area, and both
worked at Wine Madonna.
Radish and Metcalf were
legally married last March.
Radish’s next projects –
two novels and another
various stages, in between
conception and completion.
And she’s getting that old
journalist itch back again.
website and a return to
news blogging, reporting
and commentating. Today’s
news just plain bugs her. “As
someone who was a working
journalist, who prided herself
on accuracy, who would go
to her death to protect the
written word and truth, I’m
depressed every day,” she
says.
So Kris Radish continues
to see every new day as a
challenge, which she thrives
on. “Some people are really
“I embrace it.”
Wine Madonna is located
at 111 2nd Avenue NE, St.
Kris Radish’s website can be
found at:
www.krisradish.com
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