[Photo: Adele Chapin/Eater]
Georgetown's new Eno Wine Bar is slated to open by the end of this month or the beginning of October at the latest, and Eater checked in on the progress so far at the first East Coast location for the mini-chain. The project involved major renovations to the Four Seasons-adjacent building, which dates back to the 1860s. "It was a shell at best," explained Eno project manager Scott Harney. The restaurant interior will retain the historic brick shell, with new elements floating in the middle — including a giant art installation composed of wine barrel pieces hanging from the ceiling. It's meant to evoke an exploding wine bottle, and will be a larger version of a similar piece in the San Francisco Eno branch. The three-story, 60-seat restaurant will have room for private events in the basement, seating upstairs overlooking the restaurant's ground floor level, and large picture windows so diners can scope at the M Street scene.
The wine bar will keep things intimate and casual, with seat-yourself two and four-top tables that can be easily put together for larger groups. Decor includes chalkboard tiles, wood paneling, and custom moveable metal wine racks. Large glass cases will display cheese, charcuterie, and chocolate, including local options from Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Georgetown's own Stachowski's Market.
Half of the bottles on the wine list will be priced under $50, while wines by the glass will range from $9 to $20. Wine will also be available on tap, and Virginia's Paradise Springs Winery is in talks to provide kegged wine. When they open, Eno will have 300 bottles on hand, and the plan is to eventually bump that up to 500 bottles, with a mix of Old and New World wines including Virginia wineries like Barboursville Vineyards and King Family Vineyards. There's a cool tech feature too: every Eno Wine Bar is linked by a computer program that allows tracking of wine orders from store to store, and wineries can even be hooked up to the system as well. — Adele Chapin
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