Enoteca returns

The Enoteca wine and beer shop in Post Falls reopens in its new location today after a closure that unexpectedly lasted more than two months.

Both the bar and bottle store will be back in business from noon to midnight at 702 N. Spokane Street, around the corner from their original location at 112 E. Seltice Way, and open again on Sunday for football, owner John Eckhart announced late last night.

The new space, in a building that formerly housed a laundromat and a beauty salon, is about the same size as before – a bit more for the bar, a bit less for the bottles – but will be more visible a block off Interstate 90, Eckhart said in a recent interview.

“People didn’t see because of the trees (out front),” he said of the previous store, where he was one of the first customers. “They were already past it by the time they noticed it.”

And the new location between the White House Grill and Oval Office restaurants opens the opportunity for some joint efforts among the businesses, Eckhart said.

When he took over Enoteca along with his wife, Ann, in early July, Eckhart had hoped to make the move over the weekend at the end of the month while keeping both the old and new stores running.

But because of logistical issues, it instead closed on July 27 for what was expected to be a few weeks. Further complications in the permitting process stretched that out to 12 weeks, with final city approval coming just before the end of business Friday.

Eckhart hopes customers will find that the wait was worth it.

“We want to kick it up a notch from what it was before,” he said. “I think people are going to like what we’ve done. We’re doing the same thing, just trying to class it up a little bit.”

Monthly wine and beer clubs will continue, and there will be one more beer tap in the Drinks bar, for a total of 12. Eckhart plans more events featuring local breweries, like the Waddell’s pint night in mid-July.

Deschutes’ limited-release Black Butte XXVII anniversary imperial porter – brewed with cocoa nibs, pomegranate molasses and spices, blended with apricot puree and aged in bourbon barrels – is in stock now, with Oklahoma’s acclaimed Prairie Bomb imperial stout (aged on espresso and vanilla beans, chocolate and ancho chilies) on the way soon.

Eckhart also ran across some surprises in the inventory, like vintage kegs of The Abyss imperial stout from Deschutes that are slated for special appearances.

“I’m not a big beer expert, but I’m starting to get into it now,” he said.

Former Enoteca owner Russell Mann (a partner in the upcoming Bombastic Brewing ) also remains involved in a consulting role on the beer side.