The Inevitable Future of Tala Wine
Over the last ten years, I have grown and changed in ways I couldn’t have predicted. Although, one dream of mine has remained constant. My vision of creating a gathering place for people from all backgrounds and walks of life to commune over a common passion; wine.
I’m named after my paternal grandmother and her two sisters, all of whom survived the invasion of Warsaw and came to America via Ellis Island as stateless immigrants in 1957. My grandparents, with my young father in tow, settled in Jamaica, Queens in New York. My grandmother and her sisters remained close through the end of their lives.
I have heard from older family members who remember my (first) namesake, my Great Aunt Tala, that she was the person who always brought people together. I guess I inherited her superpower through her name. It’s very likely that if you’re reading this, at some point you have experienced similar hospitality and togetherness in a place where I have served you wine, supplied the wine, or even my own home as a guest at the countless dinner parties, barbeques, garden parties, and holiday parties I have hosted in my home over the years. Unfortunately, the pandemic changed a lot of our daily lives, and I miss everyone so much.
People have never been so connected while simultaneously being so distant from each other. I believe that many of us are desperately lonely.
I still believe in the idea of a “third space” - a sacred space is separate from your home and workplace - where people can gather and get away from the dishes, laundry, kids, work, and doldrums. A place you don’t have to clean after everyone leaves, and a place where you can either choose to be social or retreat quietly into a corner with a good book.
My goal for 2023 is to create our “third space”, and it’s called Tala Wine. My inevitable dream has manifested via a 110-year-old building on Mission Street in the Excelsior district that used to be a branch of the Bank of Italy. It happens to be an affordable neighborhood for small businesses while simultaneously not being saturated with liquor licenses and frequent violent crime like other parts of Mission St. The Excelsior District is home to some of my dearest friends while also being one of the most ethnically diverse communities in San Francisco. And it’s just a 10-minute drive from my home in Brisbane.
We are planning to sign a lease this week, and once that happens, my ABC license should be issued by the beginning of February. Once my ABC license is clear, we will begin the build-out. If you’re interested in following along with the process, the best place to see that would be the @talawineco Instagram page. I will be building a kitchen, a 16’ bar, a lounge, a cafe area, and a retail wine shop. Phase two of the build-out includes a 1600-square-foot event space that will be used for private events, wine club member perks, and refuge for the people who have supported me the most through this process.
I am building Tala Wine not just to fulfill a lifelong dream but also to create a beautiful and comfortable space where every person who walks through the doors feels like family.