Secco Wine Bar is planning to close at the end of the month. (Mike Platania photo)
Capping the end of a 24-year run marked by two locations and thousands of bottles uncorked, a longtime local wine bar will soon pour its last glass.
Secco Wine Bar will close at 325 N. Robinson St. in the Fan at the end of April.
Julia Battaglini, who co-owns the business with partner Dave Martin, confirmed the upcoming closure and said they’re looking forward to getting a break from running a restaurant and instead being the ones dining in.
“We promised ourselves if we managed to bounce back after the pandemic that we would step away and take some real time off. This is Dave’s 30th year in the restaurant industry and my 24th owning my own wine business. That’s a long time for anyone,” Battaglini said in an email.
“We’d like to see what’s on the other side for a while and enjoy life. Now seemed like an opportune time.”
Battaglini opened a wine shop, River City Cellars, in Carytown in 1998. A dozen years later she opened Secco next door to RCC, and two years later she wound down the shop in favor of a Secco expansion.
Secco operated in Carytown for another six years, serving wines of all varieties and European fare before moving to the corner of North Robinson and Stuart Avenue in 2016.
Battaglini said selling the business was never on the table.
Julia Battaglini and Dave Martin are closing their Secco Wine Bar after 24 years. (Courtesy of Kate Thompson/Palindrome Creative)
“It’s so integral to us and our presence, and it’s very personal,” she said. “I don’t intend to open anything in the future but also want to keep the name and intellectual property for pop-ups or private events or consulting if we ever go down that road.”
Charlie Diradour’s Lions Paw Development Co. owns Secco’s 3,000-square-foot building in the Fan. The building had previously been home to Buddy’s Place for over 40 years. Buddy’s is now located in the Devil’s Triangle in the Museum District.
Diradour said he’s happy for Battaglini and Martin to be exiting the restaurant business on their own terms.
“The restaurant business is not an easy business,” Diradour said. “They made a decision for their own sanity and health. And I applaud that decision.”
He added that he’s already started receiving interest from prospective tenants for Secco’s 2,600-square-foot space, but that he’d favor a tenant that could provide a type of longevity Secco and Buddy’s did.
“I still believe the taste of the Fan district and the folks that live there has grayed around the temples a bit,” Diradour said.
“I don’t think we’ll ever see white tablecloths come back like we did in the ’80s but the idea of experiential dining or something that doesn’t ring out ‘late-night bar’ appeals to me as an owner of the building and as a neighbor in the Fan. We’ll see what happens and what comes of all these phone calls and emails I’m getting.”
As Secco prepares for its final days, a trio of new wine bars recently opened elsewhere in the city.
Jardin, a wine bar from Grisette owner Donnie Glass and Citizen Burger Bar owner Andy McClure, opened late last year in the former Baja Bean Co. in the Fan. A few blocks north Megan Hopkins opened Celladora Wines at 111 N. Lombardy St.
Meanwhile, last fall local restaurateur William Wright opened Henley on Grace in the former Red Door space in Monroe Ward.
Secco Wine Bar is planning to close at the end of the month. (Mike Platania photo)
Capping the end of a 24-year run marked by two locations and thousands of bottles uncorked, a longtime local wine bar will soon pour its last glass.
Secco Wine Bar will close at 325 N. Robinson St. in the Fan at the end of April.
Julia Battaglini, who co-owns the business with partner Dave Martin, confirmed the upcoming closure and said they’re looking forward to getting a break from running a restaurant and instead being the ones dining in.
“We promised ourselves if we managed to bounce back after the pandemic that we would step away and take some real time off. This is Dave’s 30th year in the restaurant industry and my 24th owning my own wine business. That’s a long time for anyone,” Battaglini said in an email.
“We’d like to see what’s on the other side for a while and enjoy life. Now seemed like an opportune time.”
Battaglini opened a wine shop, River City Cellars, in Carytown in 1998. A dozen years later she opened Secco next door to RCC, and two years later she wound down the shop in favor of a Secco expansion.
Secco operated in Carytown for another six years, serving wines of all varieties and European fare before moving to the corner of North Robinson and Stuart Avenue in 2016.
Battaglini said selling the business was never on the table.
Julia Battaglini and Dave Martin are closing their Secco Wine Bar after 24 years. (Courtesy of Kate Thompson/Palindrome Creative)
“It’s so integral to us and our presence, and it’s very personal,” she said. “I don’t intend to open anything in the future but also want to keep the name and intellectual property for pop-ups or private events or consulting if we ever go down that road.”
Charlie Diradour’s Lions Paw Development Co. owns Secco’s 3,000-square-foot building in the Fan. The building had previously been home to Buddy’s Place for over 40 years. Buddy’s is now located in the Devil’s Triangle in the Museum District.
Diradour said he’s happy for Battaglini and Martin to be exiting the restaurant business on their own terms.
“The restaurant business is not an easy business,” Diradour said. “They made a decision for their own sanity and health. And I applaud that decision.”
He added that he’s already started receiving interest from prospective tenants for Secco’s 2,600-square-foot space, but that he’d favor a tenant that could provide a type of longevity Secco and Buddy’s did.
“I still believe the taste of the Fan district and the folks that live there has grayed around the temples a bit,” Diradour said.
“I don’t think we’ll ever see white tablecloths come back like we did in the ’80s but the idea of experiential dining or something that doesn’t ring out ‘late-night bar’ appeals to me as an owner of the building and as a neighbor in the Fan. We’ll see what happens and what comes of all these phone calls and emails I’m getting.”
As Secco prepares for its final days, a trio of new wine bars recently opened elsewhere in the city.
Jardin, a wine bar from Grisette owner Donnie Glass and Citizen Burger Bar owner Andy McClure, opened late last year in the former Baja Bean Co. in the Fan. A few blocks north Megan Hopkins opened Celladora Wines at 111 N. Lombardy St.
Meanwhile, last fall local restaurateur William Wright opened Henley on Grace in the former Red Door space in Monroe Ward.
Secco hasn’t really been a “wine bar” since they left Carytown. The entire place changed when they moved to Robinson and became much more focused on being a full service bar and restaurant. It lost a competitive edge as soon as it moved and it offered liquor. The vibe was off. I’m glad Jardin is now open to fill the wine bar void.
My girlfriends and I have long loved our (many) times gathered at Secco. The wine choices have always been divine and the food fantastic! We’ve come to know the staff — and have so appreciated how they’ve come to know us. If my favorite white burgundy wasn’t available, they could always point me in the perfect direction. We will all greatly miss the happy times we’ve spent together at Secco. Best of luck to you all!