Vino Bella

Most of us have two places we spend the majority of our time—work and home. Then there's the "third place," somewhere we go to relax and socialize. Many spots want to be that third place for us. Vino Bella in Issaquah has managed to do it.

Claude behind the bar

Opened on October 4, 2006, Vino Bella is owned by Claude Blumenzweig, a man with no restaurant or wine experience. And yet he has created a spot that draws the locals in to enjoy wine, tapas and each other. His secret may be that he created a place that would make him, a regular guy, happy. As he says "If I didn't own the place, I'd hang out here."

His immediate background was director of operations for the Tree of Life, a health food distributor. Originally from Washington, he had moved to California for his job and lived there eight years. When he decided to return, he wanted to do something different. "I wanted something that belonged to me," Claude explains. "This allows me to visit with friends, drink wine and tell stories. Wine isn't a fad. It's not going away. People are very interested in wine, Washington wine in particular. We have great wines in our own backyard."

He started looking around, found the space and designed the interior himself. "I had a vision of what I wanted and just drew it on a napkin," he says. He's created an inviting space with brick walls, both short and tall tables, a bar counter and a cushy seating area in front of a faux fireplace. Art rotates, primarily from local artists but also "anything of interest" to Claude. One long wall across from the bar hosts wine racks.

"Everything has been a learning experience," Claude laughs. "From the construction to selling wine, what works, what doesn't. I've learned to be very flexible and adaptable to change. If something doesn't work, I just have to let it go. I learn something new every day from my customers—maybe they've found a new wine and want to share it with me. People trust my wine selections for them. We started with maybe ten wines by the glass and now we're at about 40. It's been fun learning."

Claude's other secret to success is his positive outlook. If he makes a mistake, he feels he's learned something and he loves what he does for a living. "I enjoy coming to work every day and have become friends with my clientele. Issaquah is a great community and very supportive. People stop by just to see how things are going. Other merchants stop by and say hello. We get a lot of business from the Village Theatre down the street and also overflow from Jak's. I put photos of my customers on the website and that's fun for everyone—sometimes they'll use the photos for their screen savers. Like anything else, you get out of something what you put into it. I put my whole heart into this."

Because it's a comfortable, relaxing place, people are at ease with each other. Someone might come in alone and meet several new people. "Lots of people have met here and then gone on to do other things with each other outside of the bar," says Claude. "It's a social place, kind of quaint with a friendly atmosphere. Plus my staff is wonderful and supportive; they've all stayed since the beginning and are friends with the customers. We always try to remember names and drinks so people know they're important to us."

In addition to wine, there's beer, an espresso coffee bar and non-alcoholic wine, sparkling wine and ports. Tapas include cheese and salami platters, crusty bread, hot parmesan artichoke dip, chicken roulade, shrimp cocktail, tapenade, olives and almonds. The menu changes about every four or five months and cheeses rotate frequently. "We're always looking for new things," explains Claude. "We want things easy to pair with wines. We like to support local businesses and wineries. We buy cheesecakes from Tim's Cheesecakes; Tim is from Iris Grill. We also use truffles from Boehms Candies in Issaquah and other desserts and bread come from Essential Baking Company." Wine and beer options change monthly.

Claude has a retail sales license so people can also buy a bottle to enjoy at home. And if someone can't find something they like, he'll do the research and see if he can get it for them. "One of the next things on my list is to start a wine club," he says. They now serve wines from Washington, Oregon, California, Argentina, Australia and Italy.

Fireplace in holiday garb

For even more enjoyment, there is live music on Fridays and Saturdays. One group, The Half Pack, is led by Troy Kline who has a hair salon on the next block. "There's plenty of talent around to utilize," laughs Claude. They've now started comedy nights, generally on the first Wednesday of each month. "We put a new sound system in and great lighting. It looks like an underground comedy club. We get great comics—they've been on HBO, Showtime and on tour. Our first comic was Brad Upton, the second was Duanne Goad and our third will be Brad Brake. It's been really fun to do this." Claude has also used the space for book signings, birthday parties, wine tastings and wedding receptions.

"We're here to be part of the community," says Claude. He clearly means it and the community has clearly responded. So the next time you're looking for a third place, try looking in Issaquah.

Connie Adams/January 2008