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Old-style wine bar and jazz club now part of the Kent scene
Located in the newly renovated Acorn Corner in Kent, the site of the former Franklin Hotel, Secret Cellar Wine Bar and Jazz Club held its grand opening on Dec. 5. The establishment sports a speakeasy-style motif, offering dozens of wines and jazz music. “Dec. 5, 1933 marked the end of prohibition, which is why we chose the date,” said co-owner Amy Bragg. “We plan to have a prohibition party every year on this date to mark the occasion." (Photo courtesy of Secret Cellar Wine Bar and Jazz).
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: December 26, 2013
Not many people living today are likely to have visited the speakeasies that were prevalent during the days of Prohibition. Also known as blind pigs or blind tigers the establishments illegally sold alcoholic beverages until the ban was lifted in 1933. Now one of these retro-style businesses has cropped up in the city of Kent in the form of a wine and jazz bar.
Located in the newly renovated Acorn Corner at East Main and Depeyster streets in Kent, the site of the former Franklin Hotel, Secret Cellar Wine Bar and Jazz Club held its grand opening on Dec. 5.
“Dec. 5, 1933 marked the end of prohibition, which is why we chose the date,” said co-owner Amy Bragg. “We plan to have a prohibition party every year on this date to mark the occasion.
“We are a mixture of wine and jazz,” Bragg said. “The building lends itself to an old speakeasy and we are located in the basement, which is where the ‘secret’ part of the name comes from and we obviously sell wine, which is where the other part of the name comes from.”
Acorn Corner is part of the Phoenix project, which was funded by Kent resident Ron Burbick. The project is responsible for transforming a section of commercial space along East Main to Erie streets. It includes a pedestrian alleyway lined with shops known as Acorn Alley, which has three phases. The first part opened to the public in 2009, with Acorn Alley II and Acorn Corner getting up and running this year.
Other businesses situated in Acorn Corner are the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce, Marathon Financial Services, Buffalo Wild Wings and now the wine bar. The project also contains high-end apartments.
“The Secret Cellar represents another unique business in our central business district,” said Daniel D. Smith, economic development director in Kent. “It enhances the overall experience that downtown Kent now offers. There are other establishments that sell wine but this is the first one specifically focusing on selling it exclusively.”
In fact, the Secret Cellar features 90 different wines by the bottle and eight others on tap. Glasses are $8 across the board and the cost of a bottle ranges from $16 to $150, with the bulk of the selections in the $30 to $55 range.
“Secret Cellar aims to provide a historically accurate, eclectic atmosphere matched in grandiose by its unique wine offerings,” said Secret Cellar Wine Steward Matthew Nichols. “The wine menu showcases both cult and classic offerings designed to meet the needs of a variety of palates and profiles.
“The wines on tap are a fairly new introduction to the market that will preserve the wines, typically upwards of a month’s time thanks to the nitrogen-enclosed system in comparison to the tradition bottle pour, which may last a day or a couple days, depending on a variety of determinants such as the vintage and the region. After that, the wines go downhill and represent a better wine vinegar than anything reminiscent of drinking quality,” Nichols said.
“The traditional bottle pour is essentially a ‘ticking time-bomb,’” he said. “The kegs are lined with either high-grade stainless steel or neutral plastic to avoid imparting off-aromas and tastes”.
He said three of the more unusual bottle selections include Giradin Rully 1er cru “Les Cloux,” a clean and steely, mineral-driven Chardonnay from the Cote Chalonnaise in France, Esporao Syrah, an opulent and floral Syrah from Portugal, and Barnett Spring Mountain, a cassis and nuance-driven Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa's powerful Spring Mountain District AVA (American Viticultural Area).
There is also a large selection of craft beers, with six on tap and a variety of bottles. In addition Mead (alcoholic beverage produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water) is available.
“We don’t carry wines that are made for the grocery store arena,” said Nichols. “Overall, we aim to differentiate ourselves from the mainstream market by providing world-class wines at extremely accessible prices.
“Our goal is to educate people on wine with the hopes that they will inherently then drink better. Getting folks out of their traditional comfort zones and introducing them to wines they may not have had the opportunity to experience or have passed up before is the beauty of this industry.”
In addition to the alcohol there is a full menu including appetizers, panini-style sandwiches, gourmet salads and fondue plates, with prices ranging from $6 to $45.
“Our cheese selections are very high end and unique,” said Bragg. “You cannot find them everywhere.”
Jazz is the second major part of the menu. “We have live jazz, blues and folk three to four nights a week,” said Bragg. “In-Tune Tuesday night is piano night, Wine Wednesday is black and white silent film night and Thirsty for Jazz Thursday is low-volume, smooth-style jazz.”
Bragg said TGIF Fridays will be shared as a wine club day once a month and the other three Fridays will be more of a Ragtime/Dixieland jazz feature band, with Sassy Saturdays having New Orleans, louder-style music.
Although the Secret Cellar officially opened on December 5, Bragg said customers had been stopping by since November 12.
“We had a soft opening while we were working out all the details and doing the training.”
Bragg’s husband, Jim, is also part owner of the establishment and both have previous experience as business owners. “We are combining our skills into one collaborated effort,” Bragg said.
The Secret Cellar is open Tuesday through Saturday and seats 120 people. Bragg has about 30 full- and part-time employees, including a chef, entertainment coordinator and a number of Kent State University students.
“One of our goals for the future is to establish an authentic jazz club where professional musicians come check it out and maybe even perform when in the area as well as offer a venue where novice musicians can gain exposure and grow as artists,” said Bragg.
She said she would like to see the business listed on some of the local wine tours and would like to establish a wine lovers social club for people who love to experience wine as opposed to a “wine snobs” club.
“Our overall goal is to become a destination point where people are looking for a creative vision,” she said. “We are in a 1920s hotel basement with rich history. We have wine, beer, and jazz music. It’s truly a relaxing feel from the moment you walk in. We want that feeling to stick with you and have people think of us as the ‘Cheers’ bar. If you leave very relaxed and wanting to return, our job has been well done.”