Pandemic nostalgia? Trendy NYC bar opens Tuscan-style ‘wine windows’ for take-out booze in tribute to Covid-era liquor laws
- Please Tell Me in Brooklyn serves wine-to-go through a hole in the wall
- It follows a trend set in Italy, where the historic custom returned during Covid
- New York also legalized serving alcohol during the pandemic to keep bars afloat
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There aren’t many things we enjoyed about the pandemic.
But the relaxation of outdoor drinking rules may be one of the few.
And now a trendy New York bar has opened with a built-in ‘wine window’ where punters can order alcohol-to-go in a nod to Covid-era liquor laws.
Please Tell Me in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has borrowed the concept from Tuscany, where ‘buchette del vinos’ were used in the 1630s when the plague was rampant.
The ‘hole in the wall’ wine windows began to reappear in Italy during the pandemic to ensure customers observed social distancing.
Please Tell Me in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, serves wine to go through a hole in the wall
It has borrowed the concept from Tuscany, where ‘wine windows’, known as buchettes del vino, were used in the 1630s when the plague was rampant, before returning under Covid
Please Tell Me owners Austin Woolridge (left) and Eric Griego (right) are part-time DJs
But the move proved popular and the windows remained open, inspiring the New York bar to follow suit.
Owners Eric Griego and Austin Woolridge took over the establishment in one of Brooklyn’s most popular neighborhoods last fall, with the wine window officially opening this week.
It will introduce new world wines to patrons, including Merlots from Mexico, Syrahs from Japan and Whites from Slovenia.
Prices will range from $9 per glass for house wines to between $10 and $15 for organic wines.
To avoid violating New York’s free trade laws, beverages, including beer, will be served in seal cups along with small sandwiches.
Alcohol-to-go sales in the city were legalized during the pandemic to help bars and restaurants stay afloat when indoor mingling was banned.
Griego and Woolridge are both part-time DJs – and music is also central to their ethos.
Alcohol-to-go sales in New York were legalized during the pandemic to help bars and restaurants stay afloat
Exciting needs for Please Tell Me for Winyl Wednesdays, where DJs spin everything from hip-hop and Amapiano to UK Grime and Nigerian pop
Despite the pint-sized venue — the 500-square-foot establishment seats 28 inside and 16 outside — punters cram in for Winyl Wednesdays, when the bar blasts everything from hip-hop and Amapiano to British grime and Nigerian pop.
Woolridge told DailyMail.com that he wanted to open a place where he could play otherwise unheard tracks because he was ‘bored’ of all the other bars in New York churning out tired classics.
The wine window will be open on Wednesday evenings from 17:00 – 22:00 in addition to Saturdays and Sundays during brunch (weather permitting) to coincide with the opening of Please Tell Me’s outdoor seating.
But customers may need to take advantage of its offerings while they still can.
New York’s drinks-to-go program is set to expire next April, although the food and wine industry is lobbying to extend the window.