The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hazel Jane’s still crushing on wine
Beltline spot shifts to bottle shop during pandemic.
When Melissa Davis talks about wine, you can't help but get excited.
“I got my first round of 2020 wine. That's exciting,” said the owner of Hazel Jane's, a wine and coffee bar adjacent to the Eastside Beltline.
When Hazel Jane's opened last fall, it quickly caught on with oenophiles, as well as those more comfortable pointing to rather than pronouncing words like Sauternes or Bourgueil. The former Staplehouse sommelier offered an unpre
tentious place for folks to explore the world of wine.
Interest in Hazel Jane’s 150-bottle list and relaxed atmosphere continued through winter.
But, when the pandemic arrived, the patio was packed. “I said, ‘I can’t control the Beltline, which means I can’t stay open,’” she recalled.
Hazel Jane’s had a retail license, so Davis opted to pivot into bottle-shop mode.
With its dozen-person staff now pared down to three, the food currently available for takeout basically is bar nibbles — herb-roasted almonds, lemon-marinated olives, pickled vegetables, and house-made hummus and flatbread — that can be turned into a light dinner when ordered together as the Mezze Mini.
“Originally, I was doing a full-on menu, and plates for two, but it was no longer tenable, because food was only 18% of sales,” Davis said.
These days, revenue at Hazel Jane’s is 15% of prepandemic days. “In a week, we’re doing what we were able to do in a day,” she said.
Still, she’s trying to stay optimistic. “We were able to make an OK deal with our landlord,” she said. “It’s OK, but not great.”
However, get Davis talking about wine, and a wellspring of happy energy erupts.
“Fricking rad,” is how she described the wine from Delinquente, the Australian producer she’s currently spotlighting online. “They grow indigenous Italian varietals that are doing really well for them. The wines are in the $20 range, the labels are cool, and the wines are awesome.”
She’s had as much fun deciding which bottles should go into featured white, red and rose threepacks as she does assembling $120 six-bottle “mystery” packs.
When customers allow her to guide their sipping, an order of those half-dozen bottles comes with “massive notes” that include the history of the grape and “why the wine is really cool,” she said.
Davis even has taken to scribbling those same sorts of notes in erasable ink on the windows at Hazel Jane’s, especially for wines under $20. If you’re up for pandemic window shopping, you can read Davis’ tasting notes and prices, approach the door, point to the bottle and pay.
At a time when it feels hard to accomplish almost anything, Davis is trying to keep things simple. Patrons who pre-order will find their food and beverage waiting on a table with a validated parking ticket clipped to the bag.
“Easy-peasy,” she said when I picked up my order.
If only all things could be that easy-peasy.
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.