Huntington’s favorite wine and whiskey bar has a new name and a spacious new location.
By Jean Hardiman
HQ 110 | SUMMER 2020
Anyone who’s ever disappointedly walked in and had to walk back out of SIP Wine & Whiskey Bar because there was nowhere to sit: Take heart.
Owner Allison White has expanded the restaurant from 26 to 120 seats and relocated from Heritage Station to 311 9th St., where the old Bell’s Department Store used to be. The name of the establishment is now SIP Downtown Brasserie, and a bigger space isn’t the only change. SIP now has a full kitchen that has entree options, as well as small plates and its stellar selection of 50 wines by the glass, along with fancier selections by the bottle. It also boasts 75 different whiskeys, a selection of beer and some fun, unique cocktails.
The goal was to maintain the same coziness, excellent food and drink options and customer service that made the other location special, but offer more space — including an event room that’s available for rent — and outdoor seating.
“Just yesterday, one of my regulars said, ‘We’re going to miss the old SIP, but we already feel comfortable in this location,’” White said after its opening in early July. “Our motto was ‘Where friends meet,’ and that was so true. I made friends from that location. It was a quaint, little spot. I tried hard, even though this space is four times as big, to make it feel comfortable. If there are just people at the bar, it doesn’t feel empty. It feels cozy because we have the fireplace wall and we worked hard to keep that coziness.”
The restaurant pulled some elements from the other spot — like the concrete bar with wood incorporated and its wines on tap, though it has increased the number of taps so that every type of wine is kept at the appropriate temperature.
White — who is mother to 3-year-old Lillian, engaged to Dr. Scott Keffer and also the CFO for the fireworks manufacturer Big Fireworks — is a born-and-raised Huntington resident who really got into food and wine in her mid-20s.
“I had an accounting degree and MBA, and I owned a house, but I really loved (cooking) and was passionate about it,” she explained. “And I thought, ‘I don’t want to look back and think what if.’ So, I was 25 and sold my house and went to culinary school and almost gave my mom a heart attack.”
White graduated from the Johnson & Wales University culinary arts program in North Carolina right when the 2008 financial crisis hit and couldn’t find a job that she wanted, so she ended up going back into accounting. But four years ago she returned to Huntington after some years in the Carolinas and bought SIP from Nicole Perrone and Josh Dorsey.
It was late 2019 when White decided to expand and relocate SIP, and workers got started on the renovations just a week after the stay-at-home order was issued because of the coronavirus in early March. The restaurant opened the first full week of July; and even though it was required to stay at half-capacity because of the pandemic, that was a “blessing in disguise” for White, who was glad her staff would be able to ease into cooking their new menu items.
SIP offers rare menu options such as zucchini parmesan, maple bourbon glazed chicken wings, and bourbon-infused cotton candy, to name just a few.
“We also have some specialty cocktails,” White said. “I wanted to put a twist on everything, so instead of a Lemon Drop Martini, we have a Martini con Limoncillo. It’s a martini with limoncillo with sugar around the rim. We have a Citrus Daiquiri with lime, lemon and grapefruit juice. You typically don’t find all three in a daiquiri — just little things like that to make it a little more fun.”
For those who are particularly fond of wine, lockers are available at the new location. Patrons can have a locker for an annual fee, with their commitment of purchasing 12 bottles at discounted prices.
Knowing that the world of wine and whiskey can be potentially daunting, White and her staff are there to help.
“We’re very focused on making people feel comfortable. Sometimes wine and whiskey can be intimidating, and we really try hard to lose that when they come in here,” she said. “I like to show people what they like but they just didn’t know it.”
