Michele Sullins is one of Sedona’s major players in the retail and restaurant space. She’s the former owner of Sound Bites Grill and The View Coffee Café, businesses she recently sold. Michele is the current owner of Before and After Java Café and the stores Always on Vacay, The M.I.C. and The Drifters, with locations in the Village of Oak Creek and in Prescott. She’s resided in Sedona since 1991. She started out with her own coffee cart that eventually blossomed into the Marketplace Café. Next, she opened Sound Bites followed by the aforementioned retail stores. What she enjoys most about her work is the people she’s met because of it.
“It’s exciting because you’re with people. You get to interact with people. You get to develop your customers. You build relationships, and you make people happy,” she says. “What I loved about it was the interaction with the people and watching their excitement at what we have to offer in any of the stores.” She has been on the board of the Chamber of Commerce and was involved with the Small Business Association in the Village. She also started a restaurant business association. “I started to help other business entrepreneurs develop,” she says. “The collaboration from business to business was really important and helping each other succeed. And I really enjoyed that.” She tells us she strives to bring others together. “We really are instrumental in helping other businesses and restaurants,” says Michele. “I like to be a connector … It’s rewarding.” How has she helped others in the business community? She gave one of her employees who had worked for her for two decades a business partnership. “Our business model is we always have our employees move up or share in the business with us,” she says. “That’s been hugely successful.”
Even though she has sold Sound Bites, we’d be remiss not to mention what she has done for live music in Sedona. “I know that we really brought the live music scene to Sedona,” she says. “We were successful in bringing national acts in. The bigger artists really loved playing at Sound Bites. The room was just amazing.” So, what makes running a variety of businesses worth it? “The positive is that it can be very rewarding,” she says. “I’ve been a called a serial entrepreneur. People say I have more energy than any battery.” – By Teresa K. Traverse
