After two years, developer Ben Obletz's Granite Works building has finally landed a tenant. That's not to say that there hasn't been any interest from commercial prospects - rather Ben has been looking for the right tenant that fits with the building and the existing residential loft-livers (that means no cooking, etc.).
So what does it take to be a perfect business fit for the Granite Works building? Well, the first party to open at the corner of Main and Virginia will be a wine bar called Just Vino. Owners of Just Vino, Jeff Borsuk and Ken Wood, have been talking about opening a wine bar in Buffalo for over ten years. Finally, when Jeff was in-between jobs, he decided that the time was right to follow his passion. "We're both very happy with the direction that the city is going in," he told me. "We looked at other locations, but never considered Granite Works because we though it was going to be too expensive. When we heard what the rent actually was we decided that it was perfect for what we wanted to do. This will be a true wine bar with a seating capacity for twenty people. Between the two of us we have traveled the world tasting wines... we appreciate great food, great architecture and great wine. When I visited the wine bars in Europe they blew me away.
“We are going to have 80 wines by the glass and 20 upper-end wines by the bottle - those will constantly rotate. We're expecting customers to range from the beginner to the expert. Instead of focusing on food, we'll concentrate on wine and food pairings... not meals, but things like cheese and chocolates. I've even heard of wine and music pairings... every month we'll have a different theme - one month we'll even promote the wines of the region. We will not have a liquor license, but we will serve ten different beers including Labatt Blue since they have their US headquarters here in Buffalo. We're also planning on hosting Champagne Sundays. If I had told people that I was opening a bar in this section of Main Street six years ago, no one would have believed that this would happen. Now we'll be part of the Medical Campus, the Theater District and the new wave of people living downtown. We're going to do this right... starting in mid-July we'll be open seven days a week (hours begin at 3pm).
I spoke to Ben Obletz about his first commercial tenant for Granite Works - he hopes that the wine bar will be the anchor for the additional 3500 sq.' remaining (three storefronts). "Just Vino will be just under 1000 sq.'," Ben said. "Besides the original brick, high ceilings, and the glass front, the space will have replica (faux) wide-plank, old looking wood floors that will reflect the 1800 time period." The wine bar will also boast wrought iron and copper pub tables - found in the southern half of the bar. The northern half of the space will be dedicated to the wine bar.
Just Vino is located at 846 Main Street - Store #100.
For information on additional Granite Work space, get connected with Kathy Behan @ 716-839-1400.