In Johnson City, Tennessee, Natalie Taylor, owner of the future Vino Noir and Tapas Bar, is facing significant delays in her business launch, postponing the opening by nearly a year. Taylor points to an online portal managed by the City of Johnson City as the source of these setbacks.

Embarking on her venture in November 2024, Taylor didn’t anticipate such extensive delays in the process.

“Originally, this was meant to be an eight-to-nine-week endeavor,” Taylor explained. “However, due to plan revisions and navigating the current procedures, it evolved into a project stretching over three and a half months.”

Each modification Taylor makes is submitted through an online portal, which is designed to provide feedback within five days. However, her experiences have resulted in wait times extending up to two weeks per revision.

“Having five revisions, each taking two weeks, equates to 10 weeks of delays caused solely by the city, excluding any construction-related delays,” Taylor noted.

During a roundtable discussion in Johnson City on Friday, Taylor expressed her frustrations, emphasizing the financial strain these delays impose, as she incurs costs without generating revenue.

She said her hope in attending the roundtable was to help make a change to the process for other downtown business owners.

“There weren’t any concrete plans as to how we are going to move forward and what is being done for the process,” said Taylor. “I understand that it takes more than just one roundtable meeting or even multiple, but it was encouraging to talk to them.”

News Channel 11 spoke with Johnson City City Manager Cathy Ball about the concerns Taylor brought to Friday’s meeting. Ball said they will be taking what they have learned from the obstacles Taylor and her wine bar have faced and make changes.

“This will not look like this in the future because of people like Natalie who come forward and who tell us what the problems are,” said Ball. “We’re going to change it. It will not look like this in the future. I can tell you, a year from now we will have people saying how easy it is to do business here because we will hear from people like Natalie who speak up and tell us.”

Taylor hopes she will be able to get her wine bar open by the end of the year.

For more information on the Vino Noir and Tapas Bar, click here.