Wine Bar Concept Expanding To D.C. With First Location Outside Of New York
A New York City wine bar company has chosen to expand to D.C. with a 14th Street location, and it has a nose for future growth.
Vin Sur Vingt signed a 2,200 SF lease at 1529 14th St. NW, where it will replace Drafting Table in the ground floor of an apartment building.
Dochter & Alexander Retail Advisors represented Vin Sur Vingt in the lease with JCR Cos., which owns the building's retail space. The wine bar will include outdoor patio seating at the space near the corner of 14th and Q streets NW.
Founded in 2011, Vin Sur Vingt has six full-sized locations in New York City, plus a smaller outpost inside a food hall. It features a large drink menu of wine and beer and a food menu with French cuisine. The D.C. location will be its largest space yet, said Vin Sur Vingt co-owner Rakesh Chandiramani, who founded the company along with co-owner Sebastien Auvet. He said it will have a rotating selection of 300 wines, including 50 served by the glass.
Chandiramani said D.C. made sense for the company's second market because of the proximity to New York and the similar cultural tastes of the two cities. He said he hopes to grow in the D.C. market to open three or four locations.
"A big reason we chose D.C. is since we're a neighborhood wine bar, it's important for us to be able to envision multiple units in an area, so we do see some other neighborhood units that are possible," Chandiramani said, adding that they are looking at areas from Mount Vernon Triangle to The Wharf to Bethesda.
The company's expansion is part of an increasing trend of New York City concepts choosing the District as their second market, Dochter & Alexander principal Dave Dochter said.
"Once you have a couple opportunities in New York, you have an ability to come to D.C., and the concepts resonate well with the D.C. customer because there are a lot of similarities," Dochter said. "There's more crossover than there has ever been, and I don't see that trend slowing up."
