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Oovvda owners set to shutter family winery

Final closing date is not determined as the business liquidates its stock

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The family-owned Oovvda Winery north of Springfield is set to close after more than a dozen years in business.

Brian Overboe, owner of Oovvda Inc., said he’s liquidating the winery’s inventory with no set date to shutter the business at 5448 N. Berry Lane.

Overboe said his chronic back pain ultimately caused the closure. The winery, which sits on roughly 5 acres, also includes the Overboe home.

To better deal with ongoing back issues, he recently settled into a single-level home that’s more accessible, Overboe said, noting that selling the Berry Lane home means selling the winery. An adjacent 5 acres will be included in the sale, he said.

“I couldn’t wait on customers anymore,” he said of the physical difficulties daily serving winery customers, even if he remained seated. “It took the fun out of it, so we found a place that’s all on one level – no stairs. I can’t maintain two places forever.”

Overboe said he bought the Berry Lane property in 2003 and opened Oovvda Winery there on Memorial Day 2005. He originally licensed Oovvda Inc. in 2001, according to the Missouri Secretary of State office.

Moving forward, he said rooting out a buyer to continue the winery would be ideal, though it’s unlikely.

“Finding a buyer that would value the winery name and be interested in continuing winemaking would be slim and none,” he said. “I’m not counting on it.”

Recently eclipsing its 13th year in business, the winery is known for single-vineyard grape and other fruit wines. It’s list of retailers include Harter House Supermarket, Price Cutter and the Macadoodles chain of liquor stores.

Harter House beverage manager Roxann Noble said the Oovvda closure hits close to home.

“Don’t get me crying again,” said Noble, who works at the grocer’s East Republic Road store, when asked about the exiting winemaker. “It’s going to be missed.”

She said Oovvda wines didn’t “blow off the shelf” as one of only a few regional brands offered by the supermarket.

Those who were keen, however, valued its matching sweet and semidry offerings.

“People who knew the wine were always excited to see it,” Noble said. “I like their wine because everything they had, they made in sweet and semidry.”

The Overboes, she said, “They’re such good people to do business with.”

Noble said she also will miss the Oovvda lawn parties. Previously held on the last Saturday of the month with a free concert, the lawn parties, ceased with the decision to close Oovvda, Overboe said.

“When you don’t know when you’re going to close, it’s kinda hard to schedule those things,” he said.

Overboe said a list price for the property is not yet set, and local Realtor Brent Gilstrap likely would be tapped to list the property.

Overboe declined to disclose the original purchase price of the property, as well as annual winery revenues of late. In past reporting by Springfield Business Journal, he indicated gross revenue in 2014 topped $100,000, matching Oovvda’s best previous year of 2012.

Gilstrap said he’s been discussing the sale with Overboe but declined to comment on the acreage and the expected listing.

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