Just in time for Super Bowl celebrations, New York City-based Flatiron Wines & Spirits is debuting its second location today in the Palace Hotel. Last-minute touches are still being put in place, but expect the retail store and wine tasting room's doors to open early this afternoon.
Back in October, we broke the news locally that SF would be getting the first West Coast location of Flatiron, which is known for its comprehensive selection of small-production boutique bottles from all of the world's major wine regions, including Burgundy, the Loire, the Northern Rhone, Piedmont, Germany, and Champagne.
The store is located in the former Kyo-ya sushi restaurant, which closed in 2012 after 20 years. Its target market: the food-and-wine-savvy workers of the FiDi and SoMa, as well as the area's growing residential population. (The store's main entrance is on New Montgomery Street, mid-block between Stevenson and Jessie streets; a second entrance is at the corner of the building at New Montgomery and Jessie streets.)
Manager/partner Beau Rapier showed us around yesterday, as the shelves were still being stocked. Inside, one set of wine racks was being loaded with "pop-and-pour" bottles for $15 or less, while another held a huge variety of Champagnes (100 grower and 50 house). Even the less expensive bottles aren't the big-production brands found at grocery stores, but smaller, more interesting finds, like a Tempranillo-Garnacha blend from Spain.
Beau Rapier.
The store also stocks a wide selection of spirits, from big brands like Ketel One to craft bottles from local distilleries like Anchor Distilling and St. George Spirits. Its dedicated spirits room has "anything you could need for cocktails, plus top-shelf sipping things and great values," Rapier says.
Past that is a rare and collectible wine room, with vintages from Napa, France, Spain and beyond. It's followed by still more shelves of wine, organized by region.
In all, the San Francisco location of Flatiron stocks about 4,200 bottles of wine, spirits, beer, sake and cider—more than twice the bottles of the Manhattan store, which got its name from its proximity to the Flatiron Building. (It's at 929 Broadway, between 21st and 22nd streets.)
The San Francisco store is also more than twice as big—3,500 square feet, compared to 1,300 square feet in New York. Rapier tells us prices will be competitive, too. "We check prices on the Internet and try to make sure we have the best prices possible," he told us.
If you want to drink your wine, beer, or sake on-site, Flatiron is offering an introductory $10 corkage fee for any bottle consumed in its cozy tasting room. (Its license prohibits the consumption of spirits on site.)
"We'll have a by-the-glass menu that will be available all the time," Rapier adds, with a rotating selection of about eight to 10 glasses. Prices will hover around $8–15, with a few special selections running higher.
In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, the bar plans to pour glasses of "classic, muscular" Napa Cabernet Sauvignon like Grgich Hills, Heitz Cellars and Frog's Leap, to attract some of the Super Bowl visitors in town looking to sample local wines.
The wine bar will have food, too. "We don't have our own food, but in the next few days, we're going to have a small menu from the Palace Hotel," sort of like ordering room service, Rapier said. Everything from oysters to burgers will be available to be delivered.
Education is a big part of Flatiron's business, so wine tastings and visits by winemakers will be a staple at the shop. One winemaker is even coming for opening day: Stephane Moreau of Domaine Moreau-Naudet in Chablis, who'll be in from 5–6pm today for a free tasting.
Downstairs, a private tasting room seats roughly 12–15 for dinners and 20–25 for classes, and it can be rented. Sign up for Flatiron's e-mail list to receive notice of tastings and special events.
Hours for Flatiron are 9am–9pm Monday–Saturday and noon–7pm Sunday. Its phone number is (415) 780-1405. You can also follow the store on Twitter and Instagram.
