New Menlo Park wine bar now open

Menlo Park has a new wine bar tucked into the residential Willows neighborhood Haven Wine Cheese which opened its doors June was launched by two single moms Sam Martinez-Colson and Lea Redmond who raised their now-adult children in the quiet neighborhood bounded by Willow Road Highway and the San Francisquito Creek We ve been talking about it for years says Martinez-Colson Initially Redmond had talked about wanting to open a tea shop someday and Martinez-Colson who works in HR explained she was battle to join forces on the theoretical shop if it sold wine too Redmond went on to become a co-owner at Oeste in Oakland And though they d joked about the idea for years it wasn t until they learned that a neighborhood restaurant space a former hair salon rezoned to become a restaurant initially as a sushi joint was available They went to look at the space together and decided it would be theirs even if it looked pretty bleak at the time according to Martinez-Colson And over time their vision came together Called Haven the restaurant s name shines in an elegant gold script scrawled across the front entrance There s a mural by Daniel Huenergardt and a back patio that was hosting a private event during a up-to-date visit Interior design is by Julia Goodwin Shelves of wine bottles adorn one wall with multiple tagged as personal recommendations or as wines made by women or people of color Redmond is Black and Martinez-Colson is Mexican-American and curating wine by women and people of color is a big goal at the shop as is making wine appreciation more accessible We want to be able to share the things we love Martinez-Colson says In the kitchen and behind the menu is chef Son Souvatdy who greater part in recent days worked at Bottleshop in Redwood City before it closed He developed the menu which includes dozens of varieties of tinned fish plus cheese charcuterie boards fruit-forward gazpacho kimchi mac and cheese and an array of grab-and-go items On the sippable front wines are available by the glass or bottle from around the world including various from New Zealand Italy and Northern California There s also a non-alcoholic ros several beer and cider options and plenty of Champagne on the way Martinez-Colson notes Related Articles Eos Nyx a new addition to Dine Downtown San Jose South Bay tea services are steeped in tradition Not just for wine lovers A brewery day trip to Paso Robles In-N-Out Burger has a warning for social media pranksters koi are stated stolen from a California restaurant s pond by men with buckets Brunch arrangement is coming soon according to the owners Details Opening hours are a m - p m Tuesday Wednesday and Sunday and a m - p m Thursday-Saturday at Menalto Ave Menlo Park havenmenlopark com