Dutchtown will soon be home to a sexy and sophisticated wine bar, thanks to the husband-and-wife team of Earl and Tasha Smith, who also own the nearby Ellipsis Studio art gallery.
Intertwine Wine Bar (4710 Virginia Avenue; Dutchtown) will open to the public on Thursday, March 14 — 314 Day, for those who celebrate — with plans to cater to a 25-and-older crowd. It's the latest venture for the Smiths, who have deep ties to the neighborhood.
“Doing it in Dutchtown was super special for us, because this is where we live,” Tasha tells the RFT. “We serve on several boards in Dutchtown and we have another business here. We just wanted to help be a part of the changed narrative for Dutchtown."
Opening a wine bar has been a dream of Tasha's for the last 10 years. She says there’s nothing like sitting down and having a glass of wine while chatting with her family and friends. But it wasn’t until she was getting some coffee at Starbucks that the name Intertwine hit her.
“They had a sign and it said 'intertwining' and I was like, ‘I want to intertwine wine with the community and with health,’” she says. “I just want to intertwine all things together, family and business. Intertwining the idea of being able to offer generational wealth to our children. So I just texted [Earl] one day and I was like, ‘I got the name!’”
In remodeling the 1905 multifamily building, Tasha wanted a space to make her neighbors feel comfortable and welcomed. She envisioned an inviting, calming and relaxing environment with an upscale atmosphere replete with exposed brick, greenery, dark green leather sofas and a handmade wooden bar and tables.
“Realistically, we're in the middle of Dutchtown, one of the most underserved neighborhoods,” says Tasha. “So we don't want to offer a service or a space here that makes our neighbors feel uncomfortable, but something that makes them come in and be like, ‘Wow.’”
To start, the two will be serving 12 house wines, which will include some red, white and sparkling, but as people start visiting they plan to ask for suggestions. Down the road, they hope to implement some more spirits, including whiskey, into the offerings as well.
“That's my next move,” Tasha says. “This is phase one, getting this up and running, but at some point I want to have his and hers — a wine and whiskey mix. I am creating my own wine beginning to end, and crafting is on. So there will be whiskies and stuff, but we probably just aren't going to have everything.”
Intertwine's next phase will involve remodeling the upstairs into an exclusive members-only wine club, Tasha says, which will allow members to choose a bottle of wine, head upstairs and enjoy more of a private atmosphere. The upstairs will also be used for Wellness Wednesday, which will offer women the opportunity to come together and discuss health-related matters.
“So upstairs, there were two things that were really really important to me,” Tasha explains. “One, a space to talk about all things medical, because as a woman who's getting older there are things that I am going through that nobody ever told me and I'm like, ‘Why don't we talk about these things.’ But then also on Mondays the upstairs will be allocated for area partners, like if you have a resource or service that you want to offer the community, we’ll offer the upstairs to them. It's also our way of paying it forward.”
But the upstairs space won't be the only more exclusive corner of the new space. Earl has plans of his own — plans that are decidedly less focused on health and wellness.
“Another part of this is a detached garage,” Earl says. “I'm converting it to a cigar club called Pass the Torch. It will be another hidden feature, so if you know, you know.”
Earl and Tasha hope their ambitious plans, when executed, will serve as an inspiration to the rest of the Dutchtown community — and St. Louis at large — and help to display the great potential of the storied neighborhood.
“We're the underdogs right now,” Tasha says. “We're just slowly waking up, and we're here. So I want people to know that, that we're here and we're fun.”
Keep and eye on Intertwine Wine Bar’s Facebook page for their hours of operation.
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