After taking a lead role in the mixology revolution, it seems fitting that the team behind Holeman & Finch Public House should go one step further and transform the everyday package store. After the tremendous success of their gastropub, it is also fitting that the owners of Holeman & Finch should again partner with ai3 to translate their vision into a physical experience. Located just up the road from the restaurant, H&F Bottle Shop offers the same service, expertise, and sense of community that are the foundations of Holeman & Finch.

For those who share a passion for mixology and who seek the best and most authentic ingredients, H&F Bottle Shop offers total immersion. Equal parts classroom, showroom, and retail emporium, H&F Bottle Shop elevates the point of purchase for cocktail enthusiasts. “There is an obvious disconnect between the sophistication of a restaurant and a package store. We wanted to create a place where we ourselves would want to shop for spirits – someplace where, if you wanted, you could learn the history of a particular product,” said Gina Hopkins, co-owner of H&F Bottle Shop.

The entirety of H&F Bottle Shop is designed to share a reverence for cocktails. There are no cardboard boxes, no packed and stacked specials. Rather, bottles are treated like artwork and displayed in beautiful dark-stained cabinetry. Orders are filled and packaged in a large stockroom that is discretely housed behind the showroom. A sliding panel behind the sales counter serves as the point of passage from stockroom to showroom. The front of the store is kept uncluttered, comfortable and engaging with soft jazz lifting from an old record player. A pair of sleek gaslight chandeliers hangs from a tray ceiling outfitted with pressed tin and cast a gentle light throughout the space.

The whole of H&F Bottle Shop is reminiscent of a vintage apothecary, a place one visits for personal attention and expertise. As such, personality emanates through the many thoughtful details, such as hand-printed labels, vintage tablets used to record orders, and drafting tables set up to accommodate conversations over selections and recipes. Other rustic details such as the squeaky wood floors and an antique cash register transport customers to a time and place when cocktails were a central part of everyday life and when cocktails were done right.
www.hfbottleshop.com