Wine Spot in Eureka: Where everybody knows your name
By John Chiv/For the Times-Standard
Posted: 04/02/2011 02:43:05 AM PDT
Boston has Cheers; Eureka has the Wine Spot.
Regulars will tell you the
Cheers theme song is very appropriate for this new business that opened a
little over three months ago in Old Town but their own tagline, “where old
friends go to meet new ones” more aptly describes the atmosphere owner Kat Combs
works to create everyday.
A ribbon cutting is scheduled
for 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the Wine Spot, 234 F St.
When Art of Wine closed, there
was no place left in Eureka where people could go wine-tasting. Manager Tim
Hendrix, who worked at the Art of Wine, was looking for investors to open a
similar business. He knew Combs and her husband Ron from Art of Wine, and
although there were a few investors interested, Hendrix picked Combs.
Combs was born in Crescent
City, left Humboldt and most recently lived in Calaveras County -- where she
met Ron. She has run many successful businesses including a karaoke and DJ
business that kept them busy traveling five counties in Central California. Ron
is now retired from PG&E and works as a consultant for the energy industry.
Combs had been going to wineries for years and always wanted to open a wine
bar.
Both Hendrix and Combs wanted
The Wine Spot to be different. The focus is on wine-tasting and wine sales but
they also offer beer, water, juice and non-alcoholic wine. Hendrix wanted to
“take the stuffiness and mystery” out of wine and make it more about the
sharing of friends and discovery.
To make
the atmosphere more inviting, art adorns the walls above the wine racks and
each day, there is an additional incentive for customers to come “hang out.”
Tuesdays, there is a wine seminar and game night; Wednesdays, karaoke;
Thursdays and Sundays potlucks and on Fridays they spin vinyl records. On
Mondays, when they are closed, the Eureka Rotaract meets there.
Customer comments indicate that
the Wine Spot has achieved its goal. The clientele is diverse, ranging in age,
political beliefs and why they come to the Wine Spot. According to Jessica
Ponsano, “It has a family atmosphere and not a bar set-up.” For Carly Robbins,
it is getting to meet different people that she would normally not encounter.
Ponsano added that “it is not intimidating and snooty” and that the environment
makes it very open and welcoming for people to learn about wine. She looks
forward to the Monday emails with details about the week's events.
Tracy Brand echoed the feelings
of her friends at a nearby table: “The owners are social. The selection here is
amazing and I don't feel pressured about buying.” Angie DePew likes that she
can “hang out with my adult kids and that this is not a sleazy bar.”
Listening to these customer's
feelings at Sunday brunch made Combs smile. She said she wanted to create an
atmosphere “where ladies can come in after work, have a glass of wine with
friends and feel comfortable and relax. Everyone here feels like family. We are
very open to customer feedback and the ambiance just happened naturally.”
Promoting California,
especially Humboldt, is obvious in all aspects of the business. They feature
wines from the best of Humboldt County wineries; all over the West Coast and
are branching out to international selections. Each month, the Wine Spot
features Humboldt County local artists on a rotating basis.
Since she moved to Humboldt in
2001, community has been very important to Combs. On Tuesdays and Fridays,
Combs and friends feed the homeless on the corner of Fairfield and Hawthorne.
The Wine Spot is just another way Combs said she can contribute to a positive
atmosphere to the place she calls home. When asked if she thought a wine bar
was a risky proposition in today's economy, especially Humboldt, Combs
commented, “It was a little scary at times at first but it is starting to pay
its own way.”
For more information on the
Wine Spot, call 497-6236.