All Spiced Up, the herb, spice and gourmet food and wine store in Avondale, has made some changes.
It has opened a secondary business inside the shop at 3543 St. Johns Ave. and has a new name.
It is now Cork Thyme @ All Spiced Up.
Owner Ana Hernandez has taken on co-owners Michael Bone and Abel Hernandez-Estudillo. The back of the store has been converted into a speakeasy-style wine bar. The wine inventory has been expanded.
Hernandez invites customers to sit on the plush leather furniture in the front of the store or visit the wine bar in the back.
Wine is sold by the glass or bottle for on-premise or home consumption. There is a $10 corkage fee for bottles purchased in the shop or elsewhere and consumed on premises.
“We have a couple that likes to come in around seven o’clock at night, and both will have their books. They sit comfortably together and have a glass or two of wine,” she said, pointing to a small couch near the store’s front window.
Hernandez opened All Spiced Up with her father in 2008. She moved into the Avondale space, which had been Green Man Gourmet, in 2016.
All Spiced Up features Hernandez’s original spice blends that contain no artificial ingredients or colors. She said that remains the anchor of her store. But with the additional wine selections, she has become more selective about the olive oils, vinegars and other gourmet products in her inventory.
“I think good food and good wine certainly still go together. With the new changes, we’ve had to get pretty creative,” she said.
“My spice friends have always been the heart of All Spiced Up for me.”
Besides in-store sales, she sends her specialty blends to customers worldwide. One customer made care packages for her military son serving overseas. Part of the package were some of Hernandez’s spice blends. He returned to Jacksonville in early December.
“I got a text that they’re making this his first stop between 11 and 12 today. That kind of stuff is just heartwarming, right?”
Bone and Hernandez-Estudillo, who is no relation to Ana Hernandez, were Spice it Up regulars. They attended wine tastings and other events and bought spices and wine from boutique producers and distributors.
They approached Hernandez about a partnership and opening a wine bar in the back. The three talked about it several times over coffee until ideas became plans and plans became reality. After closing for three weeks in late summer, the new business incarnation opened in late September.
“We hope people will come and buy some wine and hang out. We really wanted this to be an Avondale gathering place,” Bone said.
”We just want it to be a place people are comfortable to come and just spend time and create a community. We don’t want it to be anything too formal or loud and crazy. It’s just a come in, have a really good glass of wine and meet some new people.”
Bone estimated the cost to create the bar and new shelving may have been $75,000. There was some electrical and plumbing work. But the furnishings were repurposed wood and furniture already on hand.
When a carpenter needed some small pieces of wood to finish the new front counter, Hernandez suggested using wood wine boxes. It not only completed the job, but made for a decorative element.
The store and wine bar are open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. Both are closed on Monday.
It serves beer and wine. Selling liquor and becoming a full-fledged bar, is out of the question, Hernandez said.
“People have said to me, would you like a liquor license? And it’s always for me, a resounding no. I have no desire for that. I don’t want to stay open till two or three o’clock in the morning. I think we’ve got a good balance,” she said.
She aims for the store to be a neighborhood sanctuary for conversation. There is no television. There are game nights, occasional wine tastings, and music by a pianist or maybe a small jazz trio.
She has her eyes on trends. Trade magazines and podcasts are talking about today’s twentysomethings consuming less alcohol. Social activity is not centered on consumption as much as it was in the past.
Hernandez wants to stock a selection of nonalcoholic beers and wines. But they first have to pass the taste test.
“I think it’s coming. It’s very expensive right now, yeah, like everything. Wine reps have brought it to me, and they go, ‘Oh, doesn’t it just taste like pinot noir?’ No, it tastes like Welch’s grape juice.”
The new business plan may seem like a major move, but Hernandez doesn’t agree.
“If you own your own home, it may need a little bit of a face-lift. We gave it a huge face-lift,” Hernandez said.
“For years, people would come in here all the time and say to me, and say that All Spiced Up was their ‘Cheers.’ We could always serve you a glass of wine or sell you a bottle of beer. We could always sit and talk about recipes and how to use spice blends and pairings. None of that has changed.”