Cielo Soaps, Wine at the Crossing share business details
Customers who enter Cielo Soaps and Wine at the Crossing are not only entering a place of business, they are entering a home.
The two entities, located at 202 N. Freedom Ave., are owned by Beth and Dennis Polito, who live on the second floor of the unique triangle-shaped building, which was really the catalyst for the couple to move to Alliance.
“If you come to our businesses, you are guests in our home and you are treated wonderfully like our guest,” said Beth Polito when she and her husband recently addressed members of Alliance Rotary Club at the Alliance YWCA.
The Politos, who operated a printing company in California for several years and worked in education, retired in 2015 and relocated in Dundee, Michigan. They were living in a loft above a candle company. Dennis was managing about 15 antique dealers who were selling their goods in the basement. Beth was helping her sister renovate some buildings in Toledo and was just starting to grow an online business selling soaps that she had learned to craft as a way to soothe the skin problems she had suffered for many years.
Things were going well for the semi-retired couple until the coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020. The candle company they lived above closed its doors, the antique vendors were all told to pack up and leave, and the Politos were under lockdown along with the rest of their fellow Michigan residents.
By November 2020, they decided to relocate. The couple wanted a place they could renovate, use as both a residence and a shop to make soap, and it had to be between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Vermillion, Ohio – where two of their sons live.
They started searching the internet, checking localities such as Salem and Sebring, and then they spotted the one-of-a-kind building at 202 N. Freedom Ave., an 1885 Alliance landmark that once had been a market and most recently had served as a bar and restaurant going by names such as The Cabana Club, Friendz, and Karen’s Castle.
It also came with a liquor license, which intrigued Dennis, who had developed a vast knowledge and deep interest in wine while working briefly as a salesman for a distributor in California.
The Politos scheduled an appointment to view the building, bringing along one of their sons. After seeing the oak bar on the ground floor, they were sold, knowing it would be hard to come by another opportunity like the one they had at 202 N. Freedom Ave.
Since locating to Alliance in July 2021, the couple has put all new windows on the second floor, converting that level to a living quarters. The custom-made bar that was once there was disassembled and reconfigured on the ground floor as part of the shop for Cielo Soaps.
The Politos have also put on a new roof, a new HVAC system and renovated the bathrooms. Because they both like to cook, they also put in a new kitchen, but have no plans to operate a restaurant.
While they live on the second floor, they conduct their businesses on the ground floor with operating hours between noon and 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Of course, they will open on special request and for events, if contacted in advance.
On one end of that ground floor is Cielo Soaps, which opened in October 2021.
Beth said Cielo is Italian for “Heavenly.” She selected the name after those who tried the soaps and described them that way.
Adorned by two surviving glass windows original to the building, the back area is where Beth makes her products, which are all plant-based and made from natural ingredients. They contain 100% essential oils.
She said that her products are vegan. While she said she has been asked if they are gluten-free, she joked that she advises against eating any of them. She did say they would be declared gluten-free.
Besides selling Beth's soaps, Cielo Soaps offers a custom soap-making experience for up to five adults. The 90-minute experience costs $150 and includes a complimentary glass of champagne, provided by Wine at the Crossing.
While guests sip their bubbly, Beth, who does the work, explains the process of blending essential oils, and the group decides which to add to its 10-bars batch. Each bar weighs 4 ounces. The guests also choose colors and design custom packaging. Curing the bars takes 30 days, and members receive the bars individually wrapped in the Cielo Soaps signature muslin pouch.
Of course, patrons can visit their soap during the 30-day curing process and stop by Wine at the Crossing, which opened in December 2021 in the bar area of the building once known as The Castle Nightclub.
Wine at the Crossing carries about four chardonnays, four cabernets, and four pinot noirs at any one time, as well as several specialty wines from all over the world.
Dennis said 95% of the wines cannot be found locally and he and Beth need to approve a wine before it's served at Wine at the Crossing.
The facility offers two tasting experiences – both with a minimum of 10 adults. For $15 per person, tasters will sample a choice of five wines with gourmet wine tasting crackers and bottled water. In the second experience, for $35 per person, tasters are also treated to a charcuterie board with Italian cured meats, hard cheese, olives, mini cheese ball, fresh fruit and Italian cracker bread.
During June, July, August and September, wine company representatives will visit Wine at the Crossing on the third Thursday and explain their wines.
More information about those and other events can be found on Wine at the Crossing’s Facebook page, which also features each new wine as it gets put on the shelf.
The Politos are also open to hosting events for up to 50 people. According to Beth, there is no rental fee for such events, but they ask that $50 in products be purchased to help cover their costs.
To contact Cielo Soaps, call 858-750-5260. To contact Wine at the Crossing, call 310-740-6256.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Cielo Soaps, Wine at the Crossing share business details
