- Please Tell Me in Brooklyn will serve takeout wine through a hole in the wall
- It follows a marked trend in Italy, where the historical custom returned during Covid
- New York also legalized takeout alcohol sales during the pandemic to keep bars afloat
There aren’t many things we’ve enjoyed about the pandemic.
But easing outdoor drinking rules could be one of the few.
And now a trendy bar has opened in New York 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 vino’ was used in the 1630s, when plague was rife.
“Hole-in-the-wall” wine windows began reappearing in Italy during the pandemic to ensure customers observed social distancing.
Please Tell Me in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Will Serve Takeout Wine Through a Hole in the Wall
It has borrowed the concept from Tuscany, where ‘wine windows’, known as wine buchettes, were used in the 1630s during the plague, before making a comeback during 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 do the same.
Owners Eric Griego and Austin Woolridge took over the establishment in one of Brooklyn’s hottest neighborhoods last fall, and the wine window officially opened this week.
It will introduce customers to new world wines, including Merlots from Mexico, Syrahs from Japan and Whites from Slovenia.
Prices will range from $9 a glass for house wines to $10 to $15 for organic wines.
To avoid violating New York’s open carry laws, beverages, including beers, will be served in sealed glasses along with small sandwiches.
Takeaway alcohol sales in the city were legalized during the pandemic to help bars and restaurants stay afloat when indoor socializing was banned.
Griego and Woolridge are part-time DJs, and music is also central to their spirit.
Takeout alcohol sales in New York were legalized during the pandemic to help bars and restaurants stay afloat
Punters flock to Please Tell Me for Winyl Wednesdays, when DJs spin everything from hip-hop and Amapiano to British Grime and Nigerian pop.
Despite the size of the venue (the 500-square-foot establishment seats 28 inside and 16 outside), punters flock to Winyl on Wednesdays, when the bar plays 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 tunes because he was “bored” of all the other bars in New York playing tired classics.
The wine window will be open Wednesday nights from 5pm to 10pm, plus Saturday and Sunday brunch (weather permitting) to coincide with the opening of Please Tell Me outdoor seating.
But customers may have to take advantage of their deals while they can.
New York’s drink-to-go program is set to expire next April, although the food and wine industry is pushing to extend the deadline.