'There’s zero snobbery': Inside the wine business supplying some of Leeds' best-known bars and restaurants

When Tom Easom launched Bodega Movil in Pool in Wharfedale, the timing could hardly have been worse.

The business had barely got started when lockdown forced bars and restaurants to close.

Eason had left a senior job and, for a time, faced the prospect of having no income. Instead, he turned to private customers, delivering wine to households across Yorkshire.

“I was literally leaving my house at eight o’clock in the morning and getting in at eight at night every day, delivering wine,” he told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

His trade contacts helped him source bottles at competitive prices when supermarkets were limiting purchases. He also used WhatsApp groups for housing estates and sports clubs to reach customers.

Some of those early customers still buy their wine from him.

Since hospitality venues reopened, the business has grown into a supplier to around 70 bars and restaurants across Yorkshire, including some big names in Leeds.

Easom’s path to setting up Bodega Movil began when he was 16, and he left home to work at Skibo Castle in Scotland, famed for its many A-list visitors, where he became involved in sourcing wines for the hotel.

“I got heavily involved in sourcing wines from all over the world at that age,” he said.

He then spent over two decades in the brewery trade with companies including Budweiser and Marston’s.

But it was wine that truly captured his interest. He decided to set up his own, drawing on years of experience and industry contacts.

Today, Bodega Movil imports, wholesales, and sells wine through its shop in Pool. Its customers in Leeds include Moods, Piglove by the River, and CrowdedHouse.

Easom says his business works with restaurants and bars to find wines that fit their customers, rather than simply offering a cheaper version of what they already stock.

“We haven’t just gone in here and done a lazy like-for-like proposal,” he recalls one customer saying after the business suggested a different range of wines.

The company works with around 40 to 50 suppliers, looking for what Easom calls “hidden gems” in their portfolios. Its preferred regions include Spain, Portugal, and Italy, though it brings in almost half a dozen new wines every week from across the globe.

“Customers want discovery, interesting stories, and genuine value,” he said. A Georgian wine, he added, recently became the shop’s top seller for the week.

Bodega Movil’s warehouse in Pool in Wharfedale also houses its retail shop. Easom says the location works well for a business whose customers stretch from Darlington to Barnsley, with many in Leeds and Harrogate.

He describes the shop as “an independent rustic version” of Majestic Wines, focusing on personal recommendations rather than a one-size-fits-all offer.

“There’s zero snobbery around our operation,” he said. “We welcome people into the store who know little or nothing about wine.”

For hospitality customers, the business also makes the case that its wine range can help ease pressure on margins as wages, energy and other operations costs rise.

Easom said one pub saved about £2,500 a year on a single product after switching to a wine that he said also performed better in a blind tasting.

“We’re able to boost their margins using an exciting range of wine,” he said.

He believes independent suppliers and venues have a role to play in supporting each other. Leeds, he said, has “come on leaps and bounds”, with hospitality businesses increasingly working with local suppliers and promoting those relationships.

The next stage of the business is already taking shape. Eason hopes to open a wine bar close to the warehouse within the next 12 months. The company is also choosing between two producers for a house range, which he hopes to launch early next year.

The planned range will include Spanish wines, with rosado, blanco, Tempranillo and sparkling wine among the styles.

“We’re still obviously on a journey,” he said. “It’s great to get the exposure for an independent business.”