Wine bar planned downtown

Pair hope to open it by the holidays

BY SCOTT WUERZ

News-Democrat

--
BELLEVILLE -- Another nightspot is on the to-do list for downtown Belleville.
Or is that on the wine list?
Allison Babcock and Dave Nagle, who already own a pair of downtown businesses, plan to open a wine bar at the former site of Seaworks pet store and Three J's coffeehouse.
"This is something that we have dreamed about for a long time, about two years," said Babcock of the decision to buy the building at 223 E. Main St. and open the wine bar there. The two own Allison's Common Scents and Dave's Homebrewing Supplies.
"With so much that has happened downtown in the last couple of years, I really think this is a great time for it."
Main Street Jazz and Blues, Castletown Geoghegan and Big Daddy's 618 have changed the atmosphere downtown from a place that almost completely shut down in the evenings to one of the St. Louis region's newest night spots, Babcock said. The current conversion of the former Good Times Tavern into a swanky lounge by owners of a couple of Soulard bars and the construction of the Robin's Beak microbrewery should only increase the attraction to the area, she said.
Nagle said he and Babcock are still mulling over entertainment and food possibilities at the still un-named establishment.
"I don't want to say that we necessarily plan to target an older crowd," Nagle said. "But we want it to be a nice, relaxing sort of place where someone can come and have a pleasant evening."
A small building behind the wine bar has already been demolished to make room for a courtyard where Nagel and Babcock envision their customers sitting under a starry sky while sipping a glass of wine or a selection from a specialty beer list.
The wine bar is expected to open about Christmastime, according to Babcock. She said the pair wanted to keep the new establishment a secret as long as possible. But a gag advertisement on the front of the shop that claimed it would open as a leaf store as soon as its owners finished collecting their fall inventory caused a bigger than anticipated stir.
"People have been poking around trying to figure out what's going on," Babcock said. "It was getting hard to keep the secret."
Nagle, whose hobby of making homemade beer led to the opening of Dave's Homebrewing, also dabbles in wine making. But he said his wine won't be offered at the bar -- at least for now. The selections will come from national and local wineries.
Contact reporter Scott Wuerz at swuerz@bnd.com or 239-2626.

---

Why keep checking for Mail? The all-new Yahoo! Mail shows you when there are new messages.