RACINE â€" One of downtown's largest vacant storefronts will be filled by one of its more successful businesses.

Uncorkt, the wine store which is approaching four years in business, will expand by taking over the former Flowers & Co. store at 240 Main St. The move depends only on the expected transfer of Uncorkt's wine and beer license to the new address.

Flowers & Co. was a downtown stalwart for many years, until the previous long-time owners left the area. The business wilted under new ownership and closed around the end of 2007.

"Until about six weeks ago, we weren't looking to move," Uncorkt owner Sherry Etes said Wednesday. "I was at Dunn Bros. (Coffee, 245 Main St.), and I said, "I wish you guys were next door to me.' They said, â€óWe wish you were next door to us, too.'"

Etes left the coffee shop, spotted the empty Flowers & Co. building, and ended up leasing it.

Her lease does not include the former Red Onion space, left vacant when the restaurant consolidated its operations into the Johnson Building. "We're hoping for another restaurant there," Etes said. "I think that would be a nice relationship."

Uncorkt opened in its present spot, 211 Sixth St., in 2004. It appeared to be a risky move, because the Historic Century Market had opened the previous fall three blocks away on Sixth Street, featuring gourmet wines and a staff wine expert.

Within about two months of Uncorkt opening, Braun's Specialties also opened Downtown.

But the Historic Century Market failed and Braun's closed last summer. Meanwhile, Uncorkt steadily built a loyal clientele with daily wine tasting, wine-related events and a Wine of the Month Club.

And Etes said Uncorkt will be able to do much more when it trades its 2,700 square feet for nearly 5,000 square feet. "It's going to be phenomenal for us to take what we do and make it better," she said.

For example, she plans to expand the tasting bar, and the event part of the business â€" rehearsal dinners, showers, banquets and other group functions. "We're consistently beyond our capacity," Etes remarked.

She plans four to six weeks of remodeling which will include a full upstairs kitchen. Etes is also thrilled to inherit the existing coolers, formerly used for flowers and plants, which instead will store wine, microbrewed beers and cheeses.

The larger quarters will allow Uncorkt to add about 80 new wine labels to its current inventory of about 700 and expand its beer lines, Etes continued. The Wine of the Month Club will triple in size and move into a visible position.

With all of that, Etes said, she will also expand the store's hours, adding both earlier and later times. She expects to open in the new location in about the third week of June.