Spill the Wine, a wine bar and eatery that specializes in small-plates-inspired cuisine, opened on April 2 at its new location on Lake Street and Bryant Avenue in Minneapolis.
Restaurant owner Katie Greeman says it’s serendipitous that Spill the Wine wound up at an intersection with several other similar businesses, including the recently-opened
Morrissey’s Irish Pub, Bryant Lake Bowl, and
Dunn Bros. Coffee. This is something that the six-year-old Spill the Wine lacked in its old space downtown, on Washington Avenue, she says.
In the process of relocating, this was an unplanned bonus: “It all came together beautifully," she says. “We definitely have that community now in place, which is huge,” she says, adding, “It provides the neighborhood with one more place to go to.”
Spill the Wine, which seats 96 people and will soon have outdoor dining for 32 as well, aims to be a neighborhood-friendly wine bar--a vision that aligned with the landlord’s, she says. But the space, which previously housed a bike shop, had to be totally gutted to make way for the restaurant. “It required a full build-out, from scratch,” she says.
At the new space, Spill the Wine has a new look, which she describes as a casual, café-like feel, Pinterest-inspired “shabby chic." For example, the interior features a lot of reclaimed wood and metal, with Mason jar lights, artwork by local artist
Terrence Payne, cement floors, and an industrial, open kitchen. “It’s definitely a labor of love. We did everything on our own with no architect,” she says.
So far, the place has been busy. “The neighborhood has been overwhelmingly responsive, with a lot of people going out of their way to say thanks for coming here,” Greeman says.
Source: Katie Greeman, owner, Spill the Wine
Writer: Anna Pratt