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Alex Bridges was thinking about opening a wine bar for a long time, aiming for a concept with a cozy, unintimidating vibe, an interesting menu and a fun educational piece.
“There are not a lot of wine bars in Charlotte [North Carolina] and I was looking for a location that could turn into a community gathering place,” he said. When a space became available in the Dilworth neighborhood, he and his partner, Andres Kaifer, grabbed it. The neighborhood has a lot of young families and people in their 30s and 40s who fit the audience, Bridges said.
The result is Emmy Lou’s, a wine bar/retail shop hybrid named for a beloved great-grandmother. It opened in December and is already a busy neighborhood hangout. Guests have multiple ways to enjoy the food and wine, but it all starts at the shelves.
Shelf stories
The partners also operate Charlotte restaurant Customshop, which offers a good selection of wines. But Bridges became passionate about the subject while working on the wine retail side in New York City. When it was time to set up Emmy Lou’s, he knew he wanted to take a different menu approach.
“We lined one wall with shelves holding about 200 bottles of wine and designed handwritten shelf talkers that speak in everyday terms,” he said. “The selection is a mix of ‘comfortable’ bottles and some that are more niche, highlighting an alternative producer or limited edition.”
A shelf talker ties into a customer's zodiac sign.
For example, one description may say “You like Sancerre but are sad the price keeps going up! Give me a try.” And during the first month of 2026, the shelf talker under a bottle of Barbera referred to Capricorn, the zodiac sign for those born in January. It reads “This wine is traditional and reliable, just like you Capricorns!”
Customers who come in to buy a bottle to take home are entertained and educated as they shop. But Emmy Lou’s space is primarily taken up by three long communal tables, an intimate seven-seat bar and a 36-seat patio. “There’s more seating than shelving and more often than not, people pull a bottle off the shelf or out of the cooler and sit down with friends to share it. “Most folks also order food,” said Bridges.
Guests can grab a bottle to share at one of the communal tables.
Emmy Lou’s also functions as a traditional wine bar, with an extensive wine-by-the glass list and knowledgeable servers. On the menu, the wines are grouped into four categories—White, Red, Skin Contact and Sparkling—and range in price from $13 to $18 per glass, with most at the lower end. The descriptions identify the wines by varietal and region where the grapes are grown, but “our servers are trained in storytelling and are very interactive with the guests,” Bridges said.
Emmy Lou’s other half
Sharing and socializing over wine is core to the concept, and shareability extends to the food side of the menu as well. “Most of the guests who come split a bottle of wine and split the food,” said Bridges. He and Kaifer developed a well-edited lunch and dinner menu that focuses on shareables and small plates, with many of the ingredients sourced from local farmers and cheesemakers.
Some items are common to both meal occasions, including Marinated Olives, Pasta Salad with Caesar, peppadew, radicchio, Parmesan and gremolata, and Wedge Salad with pickled shallot, valdeon cheese, radish and everything bagel crunch. There are also build-your-own charcuterie plates with six meat and cheese options priced from $6 to $9 each to mix and match. These include Jamon Serrano, Calabrian Soppressata and Manchego cheese.
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Shareable plates encourage socializing on the patio.
The lunch menu offers more single items, like Shrimp Cocktail, Tartine and the Elena Ruz sandwich (turkey, cream cheese and fig jam on baguette). For dinner, the list expands to include Hamachi Tiradito, White Bean & Garlic Dip and a Crab Risotto. “We’re developing more large plates to add to the dinner menu,” said Bridges. “The menu will always be evolving, depending on what’s available and in season. We print the menus in house, so they can change every day.”
Prices for food are in a similar range as by-the-glass wines: $12 to $16 for the small plates. The most expensive item is the Crab Risotto at $25. Three desserts are also available for $6 to $10: Tiramisu, Basque Cheesecake and a Seasonal Sundae.
“We wanted to open a place that we would want to go to, and reasonable wine and food prices are an important piece of the concept. You can’t call yourself a neighborhood wine bar and price people out,” said Bridges.
