Wine bar sets up shop, cocktail lounge planned near Dickson
Posted on Friday, September 5, 2008
Tonight, Fayetteville will see its first wine bar open its doors.
Jason Evins, one of the owners of The Wine Cellar, said his bar will be more than just a bar; it will be an experience for patrons.
"We really haven't seen anything like it in Northwest Arkansas," Evins said.
The bar, located at 509 W. Spring St. No. 230 near Speak Easy and the Flying Burrito, will feature a full-service bar with liquor and beer. Evins said the real thrill is the variety of wines and the way the bar serves the wine. He said customers can load money onto a "smart card "that they purchase from a bartender or a server. Then the patron can take the card to a wine dispensing machine and choose from eight chilled, white wines and 16 room-temperature red wines. He said the customer swipes the card and chooses a portion of wine: a taste size, a half a glass or a whole glass.
"Over all 50 to 60 different wines will be available (at the bar and in the machines ) and prices will range from $ 4 to $ 80," Evins said. "We're going to try and have one really rare bottle in the machines at all times."
Evins said he really wants Northwest Arkansas to embrace the experience of wine drinking and is even employing servers and local wine expert Barb Willet to be present at the bar to answer any questions about wine and make suggestions.
"Wine can be intimidating," he said. "We're really just about the educational experience."
Evins said that the bar will serve cheese and bread plates to patrons and that he thinks it's a great way to end a night after a nice dinner or a show at the Walton Arts Center.
"We're really just targeting anyone who's interested in wine," he said.
The Dickson Street bar scene can also look forward to the addition of the Lit Lounge. Owner Damien Armstrong said his upscale martini and cocktail lounge is still in the design stage but he hopes to have the doors open by January. The bar will be located at 436 Watson St. right behind Z 330.
"It's an upscale lounge that caters more towards young professionals," Armstrong said.
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