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Grand plans were made during the UW college years. Kevin Erickson and friends talked of opening a wine bar, then a bar, then a restaurant and ultimately, if all went well, a steakhouse. Ten years post college, Bricco, the wine bar is open. Actually knowing how much work is involved has nixed those other plans (at least momentarily).

Photo: Owner Kevin Erickson in the wine cellar

Bricco owner Kevin started cooking when he was 15. In college, he worked at bars; after college he joined friends at BBC, a restaurant in Warm Springs (Sun Valley). He managed his way into the kitchen and ending up running it. He helped open Khana in Fremont, worked there shortly, then decided to travel around the world. Returning six months later, Khana was closed and he moved into bartending.

The wine bar idea resurfaced. A friend from college, Jason, was working at Enoteca in Manhattan as the wine buyer. Kevin talked him into becoming the wine director for Bricco. Together they built out the entire space. "Our experience with building was bunk beds in the frat house," recalls Kevin. "We were supposed to get into the space in July of 2005. We got access in October. We’d already had business cards printed that said ‘established 2005’ so we had to make it happen!" Kevin’s dad, an architect, and a friend created the wine cellar. "I wanted it to be a showcase—wine should be seen. The racks above hold 3200 bottles and there is storage on each side below." And they did manage to open in 2005—on New Year’s Eve.

Jason has moved on, but not before his wine list landed Bricco in Food and Wine magazine. Kevin then hired Jesse Hufstader as his wine director. Jesse also spent time at Enoteca in Manhattan and has also managed an award—The Tasting Panel, an industry magazine will be giving him an award in the category of wine bars this November in Los Angeles. Getting awards may be a curse—Jesse is now leaving as wine director as well. However, he’ll still work a few days a week. At the end of October, Andrew Bresnik will become the new wine director. "It should be a very smooth transition," says Kevin. "Andrew is a friend of Jesse’s and Jesse will be around throughout the transition. Even though Andrew is just 24, he has already passed his sommelier second stage; he’s passionate about food and wine and has been a cook as well."

Kevin has input on wine, but as he says "I know my role. I’m the chef and I stay in the kitchen." It hasn’t stopped him, however, from adding some fun things to the mix like Israeli and Lebanese wines.

"Bricco is based on the premise of a European wine bar," explains Kevin. "It’s the neighborhood meeting place with inexpensive food and great wine. In Europe, everything in the bar comes from within a 20-30 mile radius, so every town’s wine bar offers something completely different. We like that concept. First and foremost, we’re a neighborhood place. But the location is central to everyone in the city. The majority of our clientele lives within two miles."

The wine menu changes every two days. "Our focus is on Italian wines and Northwest boutique wines," says Kevin. "We like being able to open peoples’ eyes to Italian wines. They’re very good wines at very reasonable prices. With Washington wines, we can share what’s in our own backyard. They’re on a par with any AVA in the world. Most of the wineries we showcase produce between 200-1500 cases per year."

Food-wise, each day brings new meat as well as fish item. In addition, there are staples on the menu that don’t change like the vegetarian lasagna, white truffle potato gratin, paninis and salads. Seasonal changes include vegetables (they’re just getting into braised greens and Brussels sprouts for fall) and items like braised short ribs and polenta. "Ninety percent of our produce is organic," says Kevin, "and ninety percent of our meat is natural. We use cured meats from Salumi, tea from the Tea Cup (a store on Queen Anne) and bread from Macrina—we try to support local businesses." Although Salumi meats can be found all over the city, Bricco carries some of their more unusual ones, like the agrumi (pork salami flavored with citrus and cardamom) and Dario (pork salami with mace, named after Armendino’s mentor).

One of the big draws at Bricco is their cheese list. "It’s the best cheese list in the city," claims Kevin. At any given time, the list will show 28-35 different cheeses, all purchased from the Cheese Cellar at Fisher Plaza. "We can buy in small amounts and know everything is fresh." You can create your own meat and cheese plate—there are prices for any combination of 2, 3, 4 or 5 items. Or you can just munch on cheese to your heart’s content.

Photo: Kevin working the Bricco phones

As the original business plan came together, Kevin expected a smaller percentage of business to be food related. As it’s turned out, it’s about a 60/40 split between wine and food. "I would have designed the kitchen differently had I known, although it’s a welcome surprise" he laughs. He produces the daily-changing menu with a hot plate, a convection oven and a panini grill. He has one walk-in refrigerated case.

With the success of Bricco comes the obvious question of what’s next. "I won’t do another Bricco," says Kevin. "We’ve thought about having satellite Briccos, but why go to a satellite when you can come here? And with so many wine bars appearing, we think we’ll just stay put." However, he does admit to having another concept up his sleeve, something that’s a complete departure from a wine bar. We’re waiting with bated breath.

Connie Adams/October 2007

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