A funeral home in Naples, Florida has installed what it's calling the first-ever wine cellar inside a funeral parlor. Seth Minson, the general manager at Hodges Funeral Home, tells local news station WBBH that the idea came about as a way to offer some families a different way to grieve: "They still want to have a party, still want to celebrate and have the means to mourn their loved ones… but they don't want to do it over a person's body." (It's not the first time a funeral parlor has attempted to offer new sites for grieving: In 2012, a home in South Carolina opened a coffee shop serving Starbucks.)
According to the funeral home's official website, catered receptions are available on-site, offering everything from "simple beverage service with snacks or light appetizers to casual or formal full meals at breakfast, lunch nor dinner." Minson says he hopes the cellar makes funeral attendees more comfortable and "almost like they weren't even in a funeral home." (He does not elaborate on the wines served, however). The news report, below:
Video: Wine Cellar Added to Naples Funeral Home
NBC-2.com WBBH News for Fort Myers, Cape Coral
· Wine Cellar Added to Naples Funeral Home [NBC-2 via @RonRuggless]
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