European Espresso & Wine Cafe Closed

North_Raleigh_Guy
04/02 03:44 PM

Yup I went there a few weeks ago and the wine steward said they had only been open for two weeks at that point. My wife and I had some great wine there and a fantastic cheese plate. The owner came in a little while later and gave us some hot Brioche for free. It was such a great experience and we couldn’t wait to come back with friends. We drove downtown last Friday to meet friends there and were dismayed to see the sign on the door that they had closed. How does a place go under in just one month? I don’t get it. It was a cool place, I hope it open back up.

moneigfy
04/02 05:11 PM

maybe they owed the landlord money

raleigh122
04/02 05:11 PM

or maybe they took off with all their possessions in the wee hours of the night…....

Micah
04/02 05:32 PM

or maybe they shouldn’t be giving away hot brioche!

Jennifer
04/02 06:05 PM

That has to be some sort of record.

porkchop
04/02 06:15 PM

“The owner, a European-American has been a senior business consultant and economist for many years…”

Where’s Jon Stewart?!

Seann
04/02 07:07 PM

Seemed like a goofy idea for a store anyway.

Chris
04/02 07:57 PM

I didn’t even know it was open.

How come the Boylan Bridge Brewpub got so much publicity for so long before it was even open?  Same with Foundation?  And with the Busy Bee?

With Enoteca Vin closed, this place could have filled in a gap nicely.  Seems Raleigh just isn’t interested in a wine bar, period.  Too bad, another loss to Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Durham.

JT
04/02 11:12 PM

Probably because those places had something unique about them and didn’t suck…  Just an educated guess.

Old guy
04/02 11:13 PM

Maybe it was the name.

mgd
04/02 11:14 PM

Lets see a wine bar close.  Then another wine bar closed is there a trend?

matt
04/02 11:51 PM

This was the stupidest idea for a restaurant ever.  Couldn’t they have at least come up with a better name?  It’s kind of like naming your canine “Dog”.

Lisa Jeffries
04/03 01:50 AM

Sad. It just seemed so simple - might have contributed to the lack of coverage (and lack of hype).

And I’m going to be honest, maybe it was TOO simple. I never got past the “espresso” part of the name and realized it was also a wine bar. I would’ve enjoyed it too, I’m sure.

RaleighRob
04/03 09:11 AM

It’s almost a shame that a bar and coffee house combo can’t make it here.  Remember Cyclo?  It was great for a group of friends when some wanted alcohol and others wanted to just have tea or coffee.  I was hoping this place could be like that but never had the chance to try it.

MikeB
04/03 10:32 AM

Doesn’t Helios sell coffee and beer? Or by alcohol, do you mean liquor?

I remember Cyclo. I remember warm, week old sushi. I remember never going back .

cat
04/03 10:36 AM

I had never even heard of it but at least it was different than everything else that keeps opening.  I would love something more sophisticated to open besides sports bars and pubs.

Ryan
04/03 10:36 AM

Put in a Tropical Smoothie Cafe

mgd
04/03 10:37 AM

People dont associate wine and coffee together very well from a business stand point.  If Wine is in the name then people will associate it with after work till close and weekend type event. 

Now if you are a coffee shop that happens to also have a full bar ie. Helios. People will associate coffee with morning till after dinner event, but not so much night.  <- for the most part.  So by having just coffee in the name you have a larger client base of repeat customers that you also offer wine and food to entice them to come at night. 

Since Helios has been established and has at least a light parking in the back this place was doomed from the beginning.  Which was last month… It took them longer to open than the time they were actually open!

mgd
04/03 10:41 AM

Helios has wine, beer, and liquor. 

They have a pint night $2.50, anotherday 1/2 off bottles of wine, and another day discounted coffee with boos in it.

Kurt
04/03 11:46 AM

I think it was all that purple in the logo.

Heff
04/03 02:11 PM

Don’t forget….Morning Times is now open (Evening Times) and sells Wine, Beer and Coffee.  They also have some great cakes and cookies!

North_Raleigh_Guy
04/03 04:13 PM

I’ve been to Helios. It’s a great place. That being said the fact that they serve wine doesn’t really make it comparable to what the European Wine Cafe was. If you visited the Cafe and had a chance to talk to the wine steward and sample one of their cheese plates you would know what I mean.

Too bad, that place had potential, but it appears it was mismanged from the start sine it only lasted 4 weeks. There are some nice places to grab wine downtown but ultimately I guess I will just plan on hitting the West End Wine Bar in Chapel Hill when I want more of a selection since it appears that downtown Raleigh doesn’t have a market to support true wine bar.

The Raleigh Wine Bar Graveyard
April and George (Closed)
Enoteca Vin (Closed)
The Grape (Closed)
Eruopean Espresso and Wine Cafe (Closed)

Mic
04/03 04:50 PM

Hello all,
Having been the wine steward at European, all I can say is that we had a very nice time during the short time we were opened for business.  Our approach to our wine list was very conscientious, focusing on providing visitors with wines which served as ambassadors for their respective regions of origin.  There was no fluff (or half-hearted offerings of forgettable wines in the name of our making ambitious profits).  I hope that the people who made it by will remember us fondly.

Ken Metzger
04/03 04:51 PM

Hey, North_Raleigh_Guy, don’t forget about Cork which used to be where Mosquito is now.

cat
04/03 08:08 PM

Oh, and Crazy Vine where The Globe is now on Glenwood.

afbro
04/03 10:01 PM

All good comments.  I actually thought the Grape was a good fit for Raleigh, as it was low key and not too “metro” for the masses.  I really liked the live jazz they had there, and the staff was great.  As always, the Raleigh citizens have spoken and clearly said hey Raleigh, unless it’s another Bojangles, Biscuitville or NASCAR related, don’t expect the masses to support it.

You stay sexy Raleigh and don’t forget to tip your waitress on the way out!

smitty
04/04 01:37 PM

The wine bar fad is over, replaced by 600 brands of Belgian ale.

Christian
04/06 10:33 AM

I never made it to European, but I did walk by several times, even on busy weekend nights. The busy was always empty! Seriously, like no one was ever there. I would have walked in but it kinda creeped me out to be honest. I am really disapointed that redneck raleigh cannot seem to support a decent wine bar. True, there are still some places such as Zely & Ritz, Mosaic, and others, where you can enjoy a nice glass of wine in a relaxed atmosphere, but I sure wish someone with experience would devote enough time and money to really get a wine bar off the ground and running in Raleigh. who knows, maybe I will just have to take my law degree and make it happen.

smitty
04/06 01:34 PM

Good idea, we have enough lawyers.

JMo
04/06 08:24 PM

“Helios has wine, beer, and liquor.”

ha, I would hardly call last night’s leftover bottle of Seagram’s a liquor bar. And let’s not forget that the Helios pour is… poor. They’re not in the business of mixing drinks, so why bother even offering?

They used to be great, but they turned the place into a 10-cent diner and replaced all the people with laptops.

No room, not comfortable - and definitely not a place to “kick back” unless you’re going for a cheap bottle of wine on Tuesday. I was excited about the Euro wine bar, despite its dismal branding.

LE
08/18 11:03 AM

European had ZERO atmosphere…. that is why we never went inside, though the concept was a nice one.  Bright lighting was all we could see from the outside, and that was enough to keep us from going inside..  And I agree about the Grape - fantastic place. Why ever did it close?

Lisa Jeffries
08/20 08:47 PM

I really loved the Grape, which actually was a franchise establishment, IIRC.

Which brings me to my next point, if a franchise establishment with that kind of backbone and support can’t make it, then no investor is going to put “time and money” into something that’s not likely to produce anything but loss. Sorry, Christian. I’m usually on the same page with you, but not on this.

Humble Pie anyone? I’ve always enjoyed wine on the patio there!

smitty
08/20 09:09 PM

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=necropost

Charlton Dude
07/23 04:23 PM

We went there and found the cheese to be awful. No surprised on the results.

Charlton Dude
07/23 04:26 PM

We thought the cheese and wine were awful. Not surprised on the results.

Mic Finger
07/23 10:01 PM

You did?  Well that’s a shame, and it likely indicates your poor taste in wine and cheese rather than the quality of what you were served.  Why would you post this a year and a half after the cafe’s closing in any case?