New Junction wine shop Bin 41 sets Tuesday for “soft open”

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | WS beverages

(Photo courtesy Ben Shaevitz)
Six weeks after we first heard from Bin 41 proprietors T. Frick and Jon McNamara, their Junction wine shop is right on track with the plan they outlined at the time. They sent an update late last night – they’re getting ready for “soft opening” at 11 am Tuesday: “This will be a casual opening to allow us to interact with our customers and to work through any hiccups that will inevitably occur. We wanted to note that we are not opening with our full anticipated portfolio. This is intentional because we want to get to know our customers to allow us to evolve based upon their input and palates.” They expect the “portfolio” to keep growing as they work toward an April 1st grand opening: “This is a special day, as it is the 15-year anniversary for West Seattle Cellars and the first day for our shop. We are planning some fun tasting events for the grand opening which is scheduled for Thursday, April 1st through Sunday, April 4th.” They promise to keep the updates coming on the Web at bin41wine.com, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. If you’ve been through The Junction lately, you’ve no doubt noticed their signage; they’re adjacent to KeyBank on California just south of Alaska.

wine-o March 14, 2010 (10:12 am)

I wonder if this store will put a cork in the Husky Deli wine sales?

BGH March 14, 2010 (12:31 pm)

I DON’T THINK THIS WILL IMPACT HUSKY DELI WINE SALES AT ALL. THEY SAID THAT BEN AND JERRY’S WOULD KILL HUSKY DELI AND LOOK WHO WENT OUT OF BUSINESS. I GIVE THIS WINE SHOP A GOOD 5 YEAR RUN AND THEN LIKE ALL THE MUFFIN AND BAGEL STORES, THEY WILL BE OUT.

DanR March 14, 2010 (1:22 pm)

I think there will be an effect on Husky Deli’s wine sales, but it will be minimal. Frankly, the wine selection at Husky Deli is not very good; anyone serious about wine at all is not shopping there anyway. Bin 41 is going to draw from a completely different wine customer than Husky Deli does.

I think that Bin 41 has what they need to be a successful business; they’re in a good place at the right time. I expect the run of the store to be more about how long they want to run it rather than whether or not they’re successful.

derby dad March 15, 2010 (1:31 am)

Will there be “soft” wine tasting?

mar3c March 15, 2010 (6:59 am)

i just hope there’s none of that california wine bigotry nonsense that happens so often here in seattle.
.
while washington has a decent up-and-coming wine industry, california still grows the best grapes in the world, in my opinion. shouldn’t cut off your nose to spite your face, or some such.
.
when washington can vint a zinfandel as good as those from russian river valley or dry creek valley, i might convert.

Al March 15, 2010 (8:27 am)

mar3c, I hope the last three sentences were quotes because otherwise you have proved your point.

Tasty March 15, 2010 (8:59 am)

I know where I am headed for Lunch on Tuesday!

dawsonct March 15, 2010 (9:37 am)

And as soon as California can return to ‘wine’ making, instead of that over-extracted, borderline fortified wine, grape liquor they’ve been making the last decade or so, I MIGHT drink some of it again. Drink locally, think globally.
—
And thinking globally, I think Husky Deli would be well served to get out of the wine business all together. I would also like to seem them get rid of most of their imported foods, the majority of which can be found in the Northwest, and increase their selection of Northwest cheeses.
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Twenty years ago, when my refrigerator was made in Evansville, and my TV was made in Illinois, imported food was a unique treat. Now that all of our manufactured goods are imported, I’m much less interested in having my shortbread shipped from England, or my crackers from Norway. Pretty much every item in Husky Deli can be replaced with a locally-produced product of equal or greater quality.
So, c’mon Husky, love you guys, but you should be a promoter of local specialty foods. I would bet sales/profits would go WAY up.

The HepCat March 15, 2010 (12:29 pm)

As a competitor, albeit a distant one, I welcome Bin 41 to the neighborhood. Before I bought my wine shop in Belltown, I was a customer of West Seattle Cellars as well. There are more than enough wine lovers to go around WS. I wish them the best!

Scott

Seattle Cellars

Ms. Picky March 15, 2010 (1:02 pm)

Argh. I really think wine shop owners should know how to spell “palate” correctly as it’s a word used often in that industry. If they truly meant “palette,” which is not necessarily an impossible word choice, I apologize. Either way, I raise my virtual glass to toast Bin 41’s arrival in the neighborhood!

WSB March 15, 2010 (1:09 pm)

Oops. If that had been a phone or in-person quote and not an e-mail quote I would have spelled it correctly, so I have edited it to fix the spelling – can’t believe I didn’t spot that – we don’t edit e-mailed quotes to change words etc. but I do generally fix spelling errors … TR

Lauren March 15, 2010 (2:23 pm)

Well, responding to some of the criticism of the Husky, part of their original appeal is that they DO carry international products. For a while, they were one of the few places that such things could be found. I’m all for local, but getting rid of a wide variety of products to specialize seems a but too risky as well as short-sighted.
I do think that this shop will impact their wine sales, which is unfortunate. I’ve thought the Husky had a nice selection of what I would call “Tuesday night” wines, tasty wines a little lower on the price scale that you wouldn’t want to save for a special occasion.
That being said, I do wish the new shop luck. Every locally owned business that does well is a credit to the community.

displacedcoastie March 15, 2010 (2:36 pm)

Being from the east coast (I can hear the booing), I don’t think anyplace should be called a Deli if you cant get a decent Italian hoagie…sorry Husky.

Lauren March 15, 2010 (3:34 pm)

I’d bet if you asked them (and maybe provided some of your valuable hoagie knowledge) they would put it on the menu. It’s happened before….

dawsonct March 15, 2010 (6:56 pm)

Don’t get me wrong, I LUVS me some Husky Deli. I have to consciously talk myself out of stopping for a double scoop of something every time I walk by and then creating excuses to walk past. Many of their sandwiches are pretty darned good, the deli meat is good quality (esp. the various Bavarian Meats products), they have a nice selection of bar chocolate, and it is where I go when I need a chunk of Huntsman.
I understand their selection provided for quite some time one of the few local sources of many of their specialty items (ahem, like a W. Seattle TJ’s. Just saying.), but that’s not the case anymore. I’m not suggesting they close down some Monday, back up a dumpster and start tossing everything out, just that their selection has become stale, and I feel they would have a lot of success if they start to transition to local/regional specialty items. Continue to carry the products that just aren’t made around here like olive oil, balsamico, cane syrup, Swedish fish, but throughout the rest of the store there are plenty of easily replaceable/deletable items.
Make a big marketing deal about it. don’t just tuck a few random items in here and there.

dawsonct March 15, 2010 (7:05 pm)

Oh yeah, hooray for more wine!! Good luck T. & Jon. Could you please carry a nice selection of sherry? Even a small but quality selection of a wide range of sherries would be a treat.
I know, I know, go to Spanish Table, but you all know how isolated we are and how difficult it is to get downtown from here.
—
(I like fortified wines, just not regular wine that TASTES fortified. Frankly, I think there is something wrong with Robert Parker’s palate, and I hold him responsible for turning so many wines into alcoholic Welch’s)

scootergrrl March 15, 2010 (9:45 pm)

I love Husky Deli. As is. Wonky wine selection, international treats and sandwich spreads. We are lucky to live in its neighborhood.

I also love West Seattle Cellars, but drink enough wine to know that two shops in the ‘hood are ok. I am glad to see our neighborhood center evolve and look forward to supporting all local businesses. We don’t have to be for or against everything, but can be supportive of many diverse businesses.

displacedcoastie March 16, 2010 (8:17 am)

Believe me Lauren, if I had the start up money I would open a cheesteak/hoagie joint in West Seattle and drop my hoagie knowledge on everyone….they may even put a statue of my hoagies next to the statue of liberty at Alki….anyone care to be an investor?

Dennis March 16, 2010 (11:35 pm)

I am very excited that we have a new wine shop here in W.Seattle. I stopped by the shop today to congratulate and visit with Jon and his wife T. and celebrate with them their new venture. I hope W.Seattle will support my friend’s new small business instead of QFC/Kroger or Safeway. I read in Wine Business Monthly that only 8% of Americans consume 80% of the wine that is sold and Soda Pop is the #1 drink that America consumes with dinner. Mainstream America hasn’t discovered wine yet! It’s a natural, heathful beverage that enhances the dining experience. There is no time like the present to begin drinking and learning about wine while the wine industry is focused on providing consumers with affordable wines in the sweet spot ($10-$15) I hope that Bin 41 will encourage the formation of some local tasting groups. Jon is excited about partnering with Fresh Bistro to pair food with wine tastings! I am certain that Jon & T. will provide something very different from the other shops and grocery stores and bring an awareness of wine to West Seattle that currently doesn’t exist.

Catherine April 5, 2010 (10:01 pm)

Congratulations T. and Jon on the opening of Bin 41! Congratulations as well to Jan and Tom at West Seattle Cellars on their shop’s 15th anniversary! It’s good to see we’ll now have two great wine shops in the neighborhood — with lots of wine from everywhere, not just WA or CA. All you nay-sayers, get over yourselves!

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