The Grapevine Bar will open to the public Thursday in its new home in the Medical District. Owners Michelle and Ronny Honea took the last month and a half making the new digs look like its old digs for their regulars and eager new faces.
An announcement posted to the bar’s Instagram account said the bar would officially be open after a successful soft opening.
“We just decided to go ahead and turn on the open sign,” Michelle said in a text message to D Magazine late Wednesday evening. “Staff said they’re ready!”
Grapevine loyalists are ready, too. The dive bar announced its move almost a year ago. In early 2022, real estate company Crow Holdings acquired the land that held the Grapevine’s former home on Maple Avenue. That location officially closed in August after 27 years, with no shortage of celebrations and farewells. The bar counted down the days by spray painting how many were left on the windows; right now, it reads “0.” (The building will be demolished to make way for an expansion of Old Parkland.)
Michelle and Ronny spent months looking for the right spot, which is 2213 Butler St., just five minutes northwest of their old location. The Grapevine now occupies the former Redfield’s Neighborhood Tavern, a space that is about eight times bigger than where it came from. The couple said in May that their new building will allow for live music and parties, and there will eventually be a menu for the full kitchen.
Michelle has been keeping fans updated on the new space through the bar’s Instagram account. She said in May she would try her best to take what she could from the old place, and it seems she delivered. Photos of the bar’s interior show pink curtains draped in front of the windows, colorful stained glass light fixtures, those funky Grapevine letters from their old patio, and a lot of thrifted glassware. The bar top filled with marbles is back.
The old basketball backboard and hoop are on display as decor only, but don’t worry, there’s a shiny new one. And yeah, entry to the bathrooms is still one person at a time.
Grapevine Bar, 2213 Butler St.
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