oldvine
Old Vine shops
The affable Burk Kessinger sat at the end of his bar and described the vision he had when he opened Wines on Vine in 2004.
Kessinger, 62, wanted to create a bistro-bar-wine shop oozing European charm and neighborhood coziness. He chose Old Vine Street as his location, an area he believed would deliver the ambiance he sought and promised experiences such as the ones he enjoyed abroad and in domestic metropolitan hubs such as New York City during his two decades training horses. It also provided an opportunity to set up a shop that would become a cornerstone of a neighborhood that lacked significant commercial development, one primarily serving as a convenient causeway for traffic between the established Chevy Chase area and downtown.
While he spoke, the Lextran Colt Trolley rang its bell as if on cue while it hustled past Wines on Vine, it’s “ding-ding” seeming to validate Kessinger’s choice of location.
Eight years later, the quiet area on the edge of downtown in which Kessinger laid down roots is a far cry from hustle-and-bustle locales such as Hamburg or Beaumont. Considerable growth, at least for a neighborhood that stretches a grand total of about three average-sized city blocks, has occurred in recent years as more and more businesses have popped up along Old Vine. Everything from additional restaurants and specialty food and beverage shops to printing firms and publishing houses (including Smiley Pete Publishing, parent company of Business Lexington) call the street home, giving it the diverse feel Kessinger desired.
He’s even extended his commitment to the street by moving into a two-bedroom condominium above his shop. The condo was part of an extensive renovation job on the building by owner Zeff Maloney, who also operates Heritage Antiques downtown.
“It was old, gray and ugly,” Kessinger said of the building at 400 Old Vine Street that houses Wines on Vine as well as a handful of other business. “Now it’s completely occupied, beautiful to drive by and it’s a pleasure to live in.”
Kessinger said his description of the building — both past and present — could apply to all of Old Vine, as both the building and the street as a whole is nearing full capacity. City planners recognized Old Vine’s potential for growth two years ago when it was designing routes for the Colt Trolley. One key aspect was to ensure its east-west Blue Route ran along Old Vine on its way to Chevy Chase.
Downtown Development Authority president Jeff Fugate illustrated Old Vine as an “edge” neighborhood that’s at the point where the central business district begins to morph into a residential area.
These areas have grown in popularity of late, with prime examples being the influx of locally based businesses digging in at previously underused or unused portions of Lexington such as Jefferson Street and Walton Avenue rather than outside of New Circle Road. Fugate said these areas offer the best of both worlds — a unique combination of neighborhood feel paired with a downtown vibe — and the presence of that trolley route validates its importance.
But no other plans are currently in the works to continue leveraging interest in the area, with other projects taking higher priority on the city’s development list.
“It’s a charming street in its own right,” Fugate said. “Like any sort of edge neighborhoods, there are going to be pressures as commercial usage grows and interfaces with the neighborhood. But sometimes the best thing we can do is stay out of the way.”
Despite a significant push by the local government to tout the virtues of Old Vine, it continues to attract new tenants (both commercial and residential) and is approaching something of a “critical mass” as space is becoming harder to find. That’s because indications are the street is a profitable place to be, despite the lack of buzz surrounding its resurgence when compared with the publicity directed toward Jefferson and Walton.
For example, Village Host Pizza and Grill is nearing its second anniversary at 431 Old Vine Street, a location that had been the site of two previous businesses in the two years prior to its opening at the start of 2011. And Kessinger provided a metric for how beneficial he said his location can be for business: He said Wines on Vine has experienced 35-percent growth annually each of the past four years.
“For some reason, (Old Vine) had been forgotten,” Kessinger said. “It’s a beautiful exit from downtown and a beautiful entrance into downtown. This is a heck of a neat part of town. You can ride your bike, walk or there is lots of free parking. I love being here. I just want people to realize this is a great place.”