A new wine tavern with a self-serve tap system is coming to Wichita this fall
He left his job at Koch Industries at the end of December. She left her job at Koch in May.
Now, Ken and Danielle Harmon have a new plan for their lives, and it involves lots of wine.
The couple is planning to open a new business in Wichita called Alzavino Wine Tavern. It will be a self-serve wine bar that allows people to sample one-ounce pours or order glasses or bottles, and it should be open by fall.
The Harmons are in final negotiations for a space in Old Town, they say, and they’ll share the exact location soon.
“We’re big wine drinkers, and we talked about it kind of on the side for a long time,” Ken said.
The bar will feature 16 different wines that will change seasonally, the Harmons said. People will have a card that they can use to purchase various sizes of pours from the machines, made by Napa Technology and used in homes, restaurants and wine bars across the country.
“It will allow people who don’t know a lot about wine to try different wines out without having to spend a bunch of money on a whole bottle,” Danielle said.
The couple is partial to Tuscan wines but say they also plan to carry wines from Napa, Spain and more.
The tavern will also serve “heavy appetizers,” with options like charcuterie boards and bread with dipping oils.
The space the Harmons are looking at would allow them to seat about 30 inside, offer a private dining room for 10 and seat another 30 on a dedicated patio.
The couple made the decision to go ahead with the plan right around spring break, which of course is when the coronavirus pandemic hit local businesses hard.
That may seem like a negative, Danielle said, but it actually may turn out to work in their favor. Their interior designer is putting their plans together with social distancing in mind.
“If we had really done this and jump started it last year, I don’t think we would have ever anticipated COVID and what could possibly happen to businesses,” she said. “This has given us a little bit of an advantage to feel like we can prepare a little better — financially for sure but also in our design.”
The name Alzavino, the couple said, was inspired by the Italian word for a small pipe used to take tasting-sized samples from wine casks. It translates to “wine thief.”
The Harmons had put in more than 45 years combined years at Koch and learned a lot about entrepreneurship, they said. He worked in IT and she worked in many departments, from auditing to human resources.
Recently, Ken was hired as the new chief information officer for Wichita State University, so he’ll be helping Danielle with the new business from the sidelines.
I’ll update you when the Harmons are ready to announce their location.
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 5:01 AM.
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