Southside Wine + Spirits will move to a new location July 1

Southside Wine + Spirits in St. Louis Hills is moving across the street to 4920 Hampton Ave. in the Southampton neighborhood on July 1. The new location is double the size of the original, which opened Oct. 31 of last year, and will have a focus on canned wines and cocktails, as well as local beers and spirits.

Southside’s original location at 5017 Hampton Ave. has been offering curbside carryout and delivery in lieu of in-store service, but the new location will offer extended hours (noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday) in order to accommodate foot traffic and create an environment conducive to social distancing. 

“The focus [of] our shop will be to provide people with knowledge and experience in a non-intimidating way that fosters a community of people who love wine and who love spirits,” said co-owner Tiffany Harmon, who owns the shop with her husband, Rob Harmon.

The original store, which developed out of an online retail and spirits company of the same name, often catered events and hosted tastings. “People also loved coming into the store and chatting with us, so we [wanted to give] the community a bigger shop with more options and even more tasting events,” she said. “That will be something we look forward to toward the end of summer and into fall, but we’ll be rolling out the process slowly, and it’ll have to be reserved spots and for smaller groups.”

This relocation and business expansion comes at a time of great uncertainty for many, but Harmon is committed to making the most out of it. “It’s a leap of faith,” she said. “It’s been interesting that we’ve decided to grow during COVID, but it’s been the support of the south side community that's made it happen.” 

The new location will offer double the labels that were sold in the original location, but it will continue to carry the boutique brands regulars know and love, like Still 630, Soulard Island rum, Cardinal Sin vodka and Southside Alchemy’s bloody mary mix.

Harmon is excited to open the new location during the summer. “We’re south siders,” she said. “A lot of us are having cocktails with neighbors over chain link fences and [in our] alleyways. We want to be a part of those smaller celebrations so that [when things approach normal] we can be a part of the big ones too.” 

Curbside service will continue at the new location even as in-store service returns, and Harmon believes that service will become part of their new normal. However, “I think that the community is itching to come out of their homes for in-person connection,” she said. “As they do that, though, they want local, and we want to be able to continue to foster that atmosphere on the wine and spirits side of things.”