Pinot’s Palette pampers painters at The District

From the extra elbow room down to the bathroom mirrors, owners Reed and Judy Alewel didn’t cut any corners when it came to pleasing their customers at Pinot’s Palette at The District at Green Valley Ranch.

“Our guiding principle is to focus on the guest experience,” Reed said. “I know it may sound a bit strange, but wait until you look at our bathrooms, and you’ll see what we mean. We focus on our guests’ experience from soup to nuts.”

The paint-and-sip studio at 2260 Village Walk Drive, Suite 104, opened its doors in August and hosts general and private painting classes for date nights, birthdays, anniversaries and more.

Each public class can entertain up to 72 guests and is taught by two artists: one who instructs the class while the other assists guests. The Alewels selected artists based on professionalism and ability to teach.

“Most importantly, they have to be a character with character,” Reed said. “This is not a boring art class. They have to be able to sing along with a song and get the energy going in a crowd.”

During the event, the 3,400 square-foot studio offers beverages from the bar, including 18 wines, 16 beers, sodas and water.

The couple also selected chairs based on comfort, arranged LED lights to eliminate shadows, purchased cubbies for personal storage and built a counter top for guests to bring birthday cakes.

“This is an upscale, customer-focused event,” Reed said. “We really sweat all the details.”

Taking advantage of The District’s constant foot traffic, Reed said each class has been about half full so far.

“We do this program called Same Day Sign-Up, where you get a discount if you sign up for another event at the end of the class,” Reed said. “We’ve been selling a lot of Same Day Sign-Ups, so that tells me we’re executing well, people are having a good time, and they’re coming back.”

Opening the Houston-based franchise in Henderson was driven by the Alewel’s desire to own a business. Reed, a former vice president of sales operations at International Game Technology, and Judy, a nursing instructor at the College of Southern Nevada, stumbled upon Pinot’s Palette while attending the International Franchise Expo in New York City in June 2013.

“A year ago, we had no idea,” Judy said. “There were a dozen yogurt places and restaurants to invest in. We could have ended up anywhere, but we fell in love with Pinot’s Palette.”

With an attractive business model and support system, the Alewels signed the franchise agreement about two months later.

“It’s really like being part of an extended family,” Judy said. “We have our own Facebook page where everyone is constantly asking questions and helping each other. It’s just nice to connect with people who are so helpful and passionate about the same things.”

After successfully funding the first project, the Alewels are currently looking to open a second location near Summerlin.

“This location took about five months to open, but I can’t blame anybody because a lot of it was because we were just new to the process,” Reed said. “We think we can get open in three months the next time.”

The Alewels plan to participate in a franchise-wide breast cancer charity event Nov. 7 in which $15 of each guest sign-up is set to be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

A two-hour class is $35, and a three-hour class is $45. Private parties of 30 or less are $45 for two hours or $55 for three hours.

Painters ages 13 to 17 must be accompanied by an adult. Family classes are designed for participants 7 or older.

For more information, visit pinotspalette.com/henderson or call 702-910-4700.

Contact Henderson View reporter Caitlyn Belcher at cbelcher@viewnews.com or 702-383-0403.