“I don’t want it to feel very stuffy,” Emmons said. “Everybody is more than welcome, in fact the more the merrier.”
Emmons wants to be part of the ongoing revitalization of Hamilton.
“I grew up here,” said Emmons, recalling spending the day at Elder-Beerman in downtown with her grandmother. “It was just a great experience.”
She said she got lucky with the space, calling the corner space next to Rotary Park at Second and High streets, “beautiful over here.” It’s also in Hamilton’s downtown DORA district.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The first time Emmons saw the space, she fell in love with it, especially the “oldness of the building.”
“There’s just a lot of history, and I love all the history here,” she said.
Opening the bar as a wine bar is also for her cousin, Elisha, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Elisha died in February 2023 at 38. Emmons had spent many hours with her cousin talking about the Ciao Vino business plan while Elisha was going through chemotherapy. Elisha’s fight became a realization for Emmons that “time is not infinite.”
Ciao Vino features “a lot of great wines” imported from European areas, specifically France and Italy, countries tied to Emmons’ lineage, she said. They also have Spanish wines and California wines from the Napa Valley, “anywhere where it’s really good.”
They do have things beyond wine, but those options are limited. They have one draft beer, Peroni, an Italian lager, but have other beer options. That have a few liquor options and mixed drinks, including frozen cocktails. The next evolution expanding non-alcoholic options called mocktails “so people can come in and have a good drink with their friends that might drink.”
Emmons touted on her wine distributor, who meets with European farmers and “gets to know them one-on-one, and it’s a little love story because some of these farmers otherwise wouldn’t be able to bring these wines over here to America. It’s all these delicious things right here in Hamilton.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
David Stark, the community manager at Artspace Hamilton Lofts and Strauss Gallery, said for the past couple of years he’s heard more and more people wanting to have a wine bar, which “was a niche that we don’t quite have.”
“Someone had to be the first, and here at Artspace, we are so excited for this partnership with Ciao Vino,” he said. After a soft opening a couple of weeks ago and a grand opening this past Thursday, “we’ve seen an uptick in traffic into our art gallery every time they’ve opened.” A door connects the two spaces, which makes each feel doubled in size, he said.
“We’re certainly not the first to pair great art with great wine, but we feel like it’s going to be a good pairing Hamilton can embrace.”
CIAO VINO HOURS
Ciao Vino is open four days a week
4 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays
4 to 10 p.m. Fridays
Noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays
About the Author
