Oakley Wines, like many other small businesses across the nation, has endured quite a few challenges over the past several months due to the pandemic, but owner Stephanie Webster, who also owns Over-the-Rhine cheese shop The Rhined, and her team have fought hard, adapted and have begun to welcome guests back to enjoy a new kind of normal at the neighborhood wine bar/shop and eatery.
In mid-July, Oakley Wines opened their outdoor patio space, The Alley, allowing seating for 17 in addition to their “very limited” indoor seating. And guests will now have even more reason to visit, as Webster has started reintroducing several themed nights at Oakley Wines — something that the wine bar has gained a beloved reputation for across the community.
Some weekly events have been slightly modified, like their well-known Friday Night Tasting, which will now be a weekend-long Friday Night Flights, in order to offer a safer seated alternative. Webster features three different wines, along with literature about them, that can be enjoyed as a flight (delivered all at once) or by the glass — in addition to their glass pour list.
Another altered evening is bringing its stink all the way over from The Rhined on Tuesday nights. That’s right, Raclette Night is headed to Oakley Wines to allow for more guests to enjoy the cheese in the larger spaces.
And the wine bar will once again be your end-of-weekend hang-out spot with the introduction of Sunday Slice — a collab with Alex Plattner of the Parlor Pizza Project. Plattner will whip up specialty ‘zas and the eatery will be open until 8 p.m., with wine and cocktail pairings to wash it down with.
But you don’t need to stop by on these specialty nights to enjoy some top-notch eats. The wine bar’s kitchen is open Wednesday through Saturday with Chef David Saffles at the helm. Visitors can choose from light and shareable bites like burrata and chevre, or choose from more sizable dishes like the cacio e pepe and margherita flatbread — all of which can be ordered to-go when the kitchen is open.
The journey to this point has been exhausting according to Webster, but it has provided her and her team the ability to learn, grow and become closer — as well as expedite long-running plans and expand their business.
“We’ve tried to get an online store up for two years and had to do it in 48 hours in March,” she says. “We’ve never had tighter control of our inventory and our team has never been closer.”
This consumer shift to online ordering and delivery has also led them to recently purchasing a delivery van.
Through the hardships, the Oakley Wines and The Rhined team have remained optimistic, and Webster sympathizes with the other local businesses who have had to share the weight of the struggles.
“We are lucky — we might make it through this. My heart hurts for our industry as a whole and I’m really hoping we all find a way through this, together,” she says.
Oakley Wines is located at 4011 Allston St. in Oakley.
This article appears in The Burger Issue 2020.