You’ve no doubt seen all the work happening at 6510 Phinney Ave. N. That space is turning into In the Red Wine Bar & Cafe, owned by Chad W. Campbell and Brian Folino. They hope to open sometime in March.
(Photo by artman1951.)
Campbell was laid off from a telecommunications industry job last summer and took that as a sign to switch careers. Even though his family lived in Queen Anne, they spent quite a bit of time in Phinney, particularly at El Chupacabra. He looked around at various potential sites in the neighborhood before settling on the building that also houses Davern Safe & Lock.
But Campbell and Folino didn’t want an upscale, slick wine bar. They wanted something that was reasonably priced, around $5 a glass, and, since Campbell has an almost 3-year-old, it needed to be family-friendly.
“We wanted something that was more affordable,” Campbell explained. “We didn’t want people to break the bank with double-digit glasses of wine.”
And they wanted them to have yummy, but not overproduced, food to go along with it.
“The food will be kind of simple,” he said. “We won’t have a hood so we can’t do open flame or deep frying. We’ll do some soups and bruschetta and small plate salads. Little bites if you will. And we’ll probably have a few vegan things on the menu as well.”
In the Red will also serve coffee in the mornings (Folino trained at Capitol Hill’s famed Espresso Vivace). Campbell said they’ll probably open at 6 or 6:30 a.m. Coffee and pastries will be available for sit down or take-out. Eventually they may serve simple breakfasts as well, and they’ll have free WiFi.
Furniture and dishes will be mismatched eclectic, with comfy couches and chairs, and hopefully a little fireplace. “We don’t want to come across as being too slick,” Campbell said.
They’re still working out the hours, but they will probably close at 11 p.m. weeknights and midnight on Friday and Saturday.
“Phinney is a fantastic neighborhood, plus there isn’t a wine bar per se in the neighborhood. We feel like it’s a good little neighborhood and a good little corner,” Campbell said. “I think that we’ve got a lot of factors that will make us successful. The neighborhood in itself is supportive of these kinds of places.”
33 responses so far ↓
1 LL // Feb 8, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Looking forward to a family friendly wine bar in the neighborhood.
2 Carol // Feb 8, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Looking forward to a nice wine bar with vegan menu items!!!
3 RR // Feb 8, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Sounds like a fun spot. Will check it out!
4 Lisa // Feb 8, 2010 at 6:11 pm
yay! can’t wait!
5 P.T. // Feb 8, 2010 at 7:24 pm
In the Red, you’d have your posts above deleted if this were Yelp. Try not to be so blatant.
Good luck with the new place.
6 D // Feb 8, 2010 at 7:32 pm
…..uhh….yeah…
In the Red, you better realize QUICK how powerful the Yelp community is in this area and remember: we can sniff out phony postings pretty quick (not that these took much detective work)
7 Tahomajim // Feb 8, 2010 at 7:58 pm
$5 a glass wine, walking distance, hopefully liberal conversation, with clever muchies, clean restrooms for the babes, clean everything for everybody should be fine and dandy. That’s all ya gotta do…… I’ll stop in. Keep us posted.
8 heh // Feb 8, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Guess I missed the Yelp posts?
I will definitely NOT be going to this place when they open… not getting a good vibe at ALL.
9 LL // Feb 8, 2010 at 8:21 pm
You people who are accusing the posts of being phony….PULEEZE!!!
Just because I don’t list my full name on posts doesn’t mean I’m associated with “In the Red.”
I’m a legitimate PhinneyWood resident! So take your accusations and shove it please.
10 safetyguyneighbor // Feb 8, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Wow! I am really confused. I just looked at the In The Red posting on yelp and didn’t see any comments at all. What are heh and D talking about? It hardly seems we should be slandering a new neighborhood business in this economy. Don’t people have anything better to do? I say welcome to Phinney! Can’t wait to check it out?
11 Carol // Feb 9, 2010 at 7:54 am
I don’t know what these accusations are all about. I don’t even live in the Phinney neighborhood, just read phinneywood blog on a regular basis. I thought the new place sounded interesting and liked the nod to vegans. Stop trying to create some conspiracy out of these posts.
12 Jason // Feb 9, 2010 at 8:33 am
Chad and Brian, welcome, we are looking forward to stopping in once you guys open.
13 Jamps // Feb 9, 2010 at 9:45 am
I can’t wait to check this place out!
Welcome to the neighborhood!
14 GreenLakeDave // Feb 9, 2010 at 9:48 am
$5 a glass sounds great. I just hope there’s 21+ seating area away from the family area. I don’t want to be picking stray cheerios outta my vino.
15 Jessica // Feb 9, 2010 at 11:16 am
I look forward to this addition. I’m not sure what all the hoo-haw is about regarding “phony” posts - I live in Ballard in case anybody is checking but I’m excited to hear about vegan options and cheap wine!
16 Phinneygirl // Feb 9, 2010 at 11:35 am
Didn’t the new market up on 85th get a lot of similar supportive posts? It’s seems to be the culture here–it’s nice that people post positive and welcoming posts. Why assume that when posters continue this tradition for the new wine bar, that the new owners are just making up the posts?
Sure, I’ll try it. I’m happy to give neighborhood businesses a chance. What keeps me going back to any business such as this is a good value, nice enviornment, and decent food/wine.
17 j e n n y // Feb 9, 2010 at 11:41 am
~ though there is a little place nearby that serves tasty food + wine, there’s always room for even more good offerings for our friends + neighbors. welcome to the hood + best wishes for success!
18 Phinneygirl // Feb 9, 2010 at 11:56 am
Yes, I LOVE Oliver’s Twist, but I can always be persuaded to go to two different wine bars, and it sounds like In the Red will target a different audience (or same audience on different days).
19 Amy J // Feb 9, 2010 at 2:01 pm
My husband and I really like to go to the “Tasting Room” in Post Alley. Not a kid place, but it has an excellent, wine-savvy staff and board games you can sit and play while drinking a nice bottle of wine.
I love the idea of this “In the Red”. I saw if for the first time today and looking here to check it out. I normally do this at home with the kids and friends and I love the idea of being able to get out for “small plates” and inexpensive, but great wines.
I hope that you do make a nice family-friendly area (a train table, lego table, book area where children can play quietly) that is physically divided / has a barrier to keep the kids in.
I also hope you’ll offer up some nice flights as well.
20 Chad and Brian // Feb 9, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Hello, Chad and Brian here, thanks everyone for all of the posts here, we look forward to meeting everyone when we get open!
As to the alleged phony posts above, we certainly didn’t post them, and even though we do have a account on Yelp set up, no reviews have been done yet, as we’re not open.
As for the cheerios in the vino, we will have a small rail between the bar and the dining room for 21 and over folks, as well as an area that’s good for kids.
Again, thanks, we’re looking forward to being your neighbors!
21 B&Z // Feb 9, 2010 at 10:32 pm
Hooray for wine bars! This is only 1 block from our house & we can’t wait to check it out!
22 Mike // Feb 10, 2010 at 10:54 am
With the arival of our son last year we’ve lost the chance to go to a bunch of the places in the neighborhood that are 21+ now that we can start thinking about taking him out with us (goodbye 74th Street). Question though if you’ll have anything fun geared towards the non-21 folks, fun falvored italian sodas or something like that would be a nice touch. Hopefully after about 7 or 8 at the latest you won’t have to worry about too many cherios in the vino since kids shouldn’t be out at night when it can switch more towards an adult bar. Will be interesting to see how it all works together when it opens.
23 phinneynotballard // Feb 10, 2010 at 1:36 pm
jenny, I think we’d all love to see you pouring $5 glasses
24 ts // Feb 10, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Hey you pretentious yelpers - get the f’ over yourselves!
And “heh” - are you for real? You’re getting a bad vibe from other people’s opinions? Maybe you should try to think for yourself.
This is a great addition to Phinney Ridge. Welcome in the Red and welcome Brian and Chad. Can’t wait…
25 Jason // Feb 10, 2010 at 8:42 pm
We live a few blocks down the hill and will definitely be checking you out both in the morning and evening.
Can’t wait!
26 Laura // Feb 11, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Sounds awesome and a welcome addition to the neighborhood. I hope that there are some really excellent wines as well as the more affordable ones.
27 Whitney // Feb 21, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Sounds great! I hope you can open in March. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for this great addition to Phinney!
28 Laura // Mar 23, 2010 at 7:15 pm
I’ve been checking the web to see when you guys will be open. Any ideas? My friends and I are dying for a neighborhood wine venue….especially one that I could bring my kid to!!!
29 Chad & Brian // Apr 1, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Hello All,
We’re working hard at getting open, should be soon, looking forward to meeting and seeing everyone!
Regards,
Chad and Brian, proprietors In The Red Wine Bar & Cafe’
30 Heidi // May 19, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Does anyone know if this place is open yet? Meeting a friend for a drink on Thursday and I’d love to check it out!
31 Chad & Brian // Jun 25, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Hello again!
Finally, we have a date set for opening, June 28th, 6:30 AM for coffee, we hope to see you here!
Chad & Brian, Proprietors In The Red Wine Bar & Cafe’
32 Lara // Jun 25, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Would love to eat dinner there on Monday. Any chance of updating the website (with menu) by then???
33 Chad & Brian // Jul 10, 2010 at 8:49 pm
We’ll put our menu on our website soon, just fine-tuned it and are ready to post it on our site. Stop in to see us, regards,
Chad & Brian
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