By Alejandra Zilak

ike many people in the industry, most successful owners of specialty storage facilities got into their niche without plans to do so. Life has presented them with unique opportunities, and they had the curiosity to find out where this path would lead them.

Each of the specialty storage options described in this article showcases the myriad of ways humans learn to protect what they find most valuable, so let’s find out how all these stories started.

“Our company is a third-generation real estate development company, focusing primarily on shopping centers, office buildings, and hotels,” says Al Gardes, director of operations at Elmwood Self Storage & Wine Cellar, a 256,000-square-foot facility in New Orleans. The site where Elmwood stands today used to be a furniture store and warehouse that went out of business. After those tenants moved out, the property remained vacant for a few years.

Then Gardes had an idea that would change the course of his career. “I had a friend who had made a fortune in storage, so I told our principals that we should try it,” he says, admitting that he didn’t know anything about the industry at the time. He figured that joining the Self Storage Association (SSA) was a good place to start.

“I went to their annual conference and met Anne Ballard. She blew me away with her knowledge,” Gardes says. “I immediately hired her to come and look at the facility. She did, and told me, ‘Al, you’re sitting in a goldmine and you don’t even know it.’”

With Ballard’s help, Gardes managed to get his self-storage facility off the ground. Then came his next best idea. “We’re in New Orleans. This is a party town,” he says, “so I thought we may as well add a wine cellar.” That’s how Elmwood Self Storage and Wine Cellar was born. It has reliable gas generators that ensure the wine is kept at optimal temperatures, even during a natural disaster like hurricane Katrina. The power never went down during that storm, which is why Elmwood has customers from all over the country. They even have their own private entrance into the building. “It’s very high security,” says Gardes. “We have 150 security cameras, and there are multiple keypads to get in.”

Elmwood also ensures that wines are stored in optimal conditions. “We keep the cellar at 56 degrees, with 70 percent relative humidity at all times,” he says. They also record the temperature every minute of every day; if a potential buyer wants to verify the storage conditions, they can request a printout of the controlled climate the very minute they walk in the door.

The business model has proven to be successful beyond Gardes’ wildest dreams. However, he emphasizes that the reason wine cellars have worked so well for him is because of the facility’s geographical location. He wouldn’t advise going into wine storage on a site that makes no sense.

Corinne Wetzel, principal at Vail Ranch Self Storage & Postal Center, agrees. “We went into the wine storage business because we’re located in Temecula, surrounded by so many wineries.” Originally, she thought that the wineries would need ample storage for their barrels, but she soon realized that transporting such large quantities of wine is too complex logistically, so she decided to focus on serving individual wine collectors. “It’s astronomical to install bespoke wine cellars at home, so we provide a more readily available solution.”

She explains that it’s crucial to get all elements of storage right to attract wine enthusiasts. “We offer 24/7 access to their lockers. We have good HVAC with four condensing and AC units and backups. Security is ironclad. You have to get through the gates, then through the doors, then to your own lock. It’s private, safe, and clean, and we make sure to keep the temperature at around 57 degrees, with 70 percent to 72 percent humidity.”

Wetzel adds that collectors treat wine like art. It’s something that is meaningful and personal to them. “I’ve met collectors who catalog their bottles like a museum curator. They want to ensure that humidity levels never dip. Different vintage wines require different types of insurance. These bottles are investments. They create memories; they can be a status symbol even. Clients aren’t just storing wine. We’re here to protect their most prized possessions.”

As if having one of the most prestigious wine cellars in the country wasn’t enough, Elmwood also stores fine art. Once again, Hurricane Katrina was a huge point of inflection. “The city got wiped out, and Tulane University had a multimillion-dollar art collection on campus, and they needed someone who could store them adequately,” recalls Gardes. So, they came to Elmwood because of their reputation for being able to handle customers’ expensive items, including wine. They visited the facilities and loved them, but there was one hurdle: Lloyd’s of London was insuring the collection, and to move the art somewhere else, a representative of Lloyd’s would have to visit the proposed site and deem it appropriate to house the art. “A guy flew in to verify the premises as well as the security,” Gardes says. “The gentleman never said a word during the entire visit, until we concluded the tour in the conference room.” He finally addressed Gardes, saying, “‘Sir, this is the finest storage facility I have ever seen, and Lloyd’s of London will insure the collection.’”

That endorsement was an honor in and of itself. And now Elmwood also stores artifacts from the World War II Museum and the Louisiana State Jazz Collection. “Add it all up, and our reputation has soared,” says Gardes. “Now we have a lot of customers with private collections and other valuable items, as well as tenants who rent regular storage units. We can handle anything, from grandma’s sofa to the finest art.”

Once you open your mind to one kind of specialty self-storage, the sky’s the limit. And to prove this point, Gardes proceeds to tell the story about how he decided to expand Elmwood to include bank vaults. “I was golfing with one of my friends who works in banking,” he says. “He mentioned that banks were getting out of the safe deposit business. My wife and I rely on our safe deposit box for our valuables, and if banks were going to stop offering that service, surely there would be people looking for an alternative.” So, they built a bank vault, with high security to match. It made sense, since Elmwood already offers maximum security for the wine cellar and the fine art. It has all been designed to act as a fortress. “Our sales approach is to highlight the peace of mind we offer; and it has been wildly successful,” adds Gardes.

In addition to wine storage, Wetzel also provides a postal station at her facility. “When we first bought this property in the mid-90s, we were part of Riverside County, and we didn’t have a local post office,” she says. “Every time we needed to mail certified letters, we’d have to close and drive across town, so we created the postal station out of necessity.”

This goes back to identifying opportunities within a community. Wetzel and Vail Ranch’s employees weren’t the only ones using the postal station. The entire town had a need for closer personal mailboxes, shipping services, postage, and Amazon returns. They started drawing in visitors who weren’t in the market for self-storage, and Vail Ranch was top of mind when a need arose. “It was a good way to provide something the community needed, as well as to diversify our revenue and keep busy,” she says.

Whether it’s safekeeping expensive wine or shipping birthday gifts to grandkids, the examples in this article are a testament to what self-storage means to their communities. “Most of the time, people aren’t just storing stuff,” says Wetzel. “They may not be ready to sort through items after a loved one has passed away, or after going through a divorce, or they want to store vintage wine for special occasions. Whatever it may be, it’s usually tied to many emotions, and we’ve learned to always treat customers with empathy. It’s taught me to look at things differently, and customers really appreciate that.”