Carol Lynn Vrana

November 2025 Issue

by Mary Hope Roseneau
Photography by
Cassidy Dunn Photography

Pink readers, you know we love inspirational stories, and Carol Lynn Vrana’s is perhaps the most dramatic one you will ever read here. In a nutshell, she was walking across the street to open her brand-new business, when a commercial TRUCK HIT HER!
This story sounds so unbelievable. It sounds like a Hallmark movie, or a soap opera, or AI—completely made up. And yes, it will INSPIRE you! But first, the back story on Carol Lynn, the starring character.

Carol Lynn Vrana has always been a mover and a shaker. After a successful corporate career as a Home Healthcare and Hospice executive, she and her husband were faced with empty nest syndrome when their only child, Adam, graduated. Her husband, Marek, is a successful contractor, and while they enjoyed living in upstate South Carolina, they always loved visiting Beaufort. And Carol Lynn had an idea, a dream, a plan cooking…

The old Fordham Hardware building in downtown Beaufort has been there forever, well over 100 years, and has been revived, restored, and bustling with new businesses. Carol Lynn saw the opportunity to birth her dream, a wine bar, in this prime location, right in the corner of the building at the intersection of busy Bay Street and Carteret.

Carol Lynn has always been a wine enthusiast, and she and her husband have traveled to wineries and learned about the business. Like many, she had been a bartender in her younger years and thought it was the best job of her life. She has also taken classes at the Savannah Wine Institute and received her first certificate in Wine Education. Wine is not just a hobby for Carol Lynn, it’s a passion.

So obviously, she didn’t jump into this decision lightly, but with careful planning and, of course, the support and help from her husband and son, they turned the ground floor corner of the old Fordham Building into a vibrant shared space with the Fishburne Gallery. The old brick walls and the original concrete floor are cleaned up and gleaming, and contemporary, local-themed photography hangs on every wall. A huge mural of the old hardware store adorns the back wall, and the feeling of history, as well as brand-new, is everywhere. The bar itself is new, in a shiny tile, installed by her husband, and many seating choices are available in both the gallery and the wine bar.

The choices of domestic and imported wines are staggering, and her menu states: “Due to our diverse, rotating selection of wine from around the world, availability may vary…” Carol Lynn wants to keep things exciting and is always looking for variety and fun.

The Cheese and Charcuterie boards menu are available to choose your items, as well as several plates and sides. It all sounds like a fun experience for girlfriends to meet up at a moment’s notice, or a planned night out. Husbands and boyfriends will enjoy coming in to wait for their ladies who are shopping, with a giant TV screen tuned to sports. The beer on tap will appeal to guys as well.

There is live music on the weekends, and the “First Friday” event each month on Bay Street in Beaufort has been a real hit for Beaufort Wine Bar. Recently Carol Lynn hosted the Pink Partini which was a huge success! The place was absolutely packed!

Well, that’s the backstory. Carol Lynn and her crew had worked long and hard to get the Beaufort Wine Bar ready, as Grand Opening Day, March 6, 2025, finally arrived. It was 10:00 am, and as the traffic light changed at the intersection and she started across the street at the crosswalk, a large pickup truck slammed into her and knocked her unconscious. She was severely injured, taken first to the ER in Beaufort. They determined that the Medical University of South Carolina was where she needed to be and immediately airlifted her to Charleston.

Carol Lynn does not remember any of this, only what she has been told by family and friends.

At MUSC a serious brain bleed was detected, and the first hours and days were critical. Many people heard about the accident, and there were lots of prayers going up. Her staff didn’t know what to do, but they rallied and opened a few days later, as they knew Carol Lynn would want them to do.

In the Intensive Care Unit at MUSC for three weeks, Carol Lynn was transferred to a rehabilitation facility in Bluffton. It was there she “woke up”. Her Traumatic Brain Injury was so serious that the MUSC surgeon shared that he wasn’t sure if he’d see her alive again. There was lots of bleeding and blood clots when he first saw her being carried in on a stretcher from the helicopter.

Carol Lynn is a strong spiritual believer and feels sure that “God kept me here for a reason.” Her staff, friends from Greenville, and of course, family rallied around her, and when she finally got home, helped her with outpatient rehabilitation and her return to a normal life. However, it is still “a journey.” She has lost 75 percent of her hearing, her sense of smell, often experiences dizziness, and has had to learn to speak again. She jokes that she “came in with a bang” with her business, and many customers come by often to see how she is doing after such a serious injury.

The Beaufort Wine Bar is a wonderful addition to the thriving downtown Bay Street. It shows what can be done with a vision, a dream, a woman and shear determination—not even letting a truck stop her! Come by and visit, check on Carol Lynn, and be inspired!