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Tag: Dilworth wine bar

  • A cozy new gathering spot brings curated wines, seasonal bites to Dilworth

    A cozy new wine bar and bottle shop from a Michelin-recommended restaurant team is opening soon in Charlotte’s Dilworth neighborhood.

    Emmy Lou’s, which is opening in the former Mere’s space Friday, Dec. 19, is an ode to co-owner Alex Bridges’ wife, Emma. She met her future husband and his business partner, chef Andres Kaifer, while the three of them were all working together at a Raleigh restaurant.

    Now, Bridges and Kaifer — whose Customshop restaurant was included in the inaugural Michelin Guide American South — are looking toward a focus on wine.

    Emmy Lou’s will offer a seven-seat bar, a large corner banquet with a view of the entire space and a communal table inside. When the weather is warm, guests can also drift out to the patio with their sips and snacks, which will be set up with 30 seats.

    “We hope that it’s going to be a neighborhood bar — this neighborhood specifically’s local wine bar. A place to come in and hang out and have a glass of wine, chat with some friends, have some really cool food,” Bridges told CharlotteFive during a walkthrough of the space.

    Two restaurateurs are seated across a small, round wooden table in a booth inside a brightly lit restaurant or cafe. The one on the left wears a dark hoodie, and the one on the right wears a black jacket and vest. The background shows a large window with bare tree branches and bright sunlight, and the interior wall behind the man on the right has textured, light-colored square tiling.”
    Chef Andres Kaifer and business partner Alex Bridges sit in the “best seat in the house” at Emmy Lou’s. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive

    The wine at Emmy Lou’s

    Emmy Lou’s patrons can explore a selection of more than 20 wines by the glass and a variety of local and domestic beer. Canned and bottled non-alcoholic beverages will also be available.

    The wine program will offer varietals from well-known regions that “skew more old world” but hone in on producers who “do things the right way,” Bridges said.

    By that, he means, “organically farming, biodynamically farming — people who are really good farmers. At the end of the day, wine is an agricultural product, right?”

    The interior of a bar or restaurant under construction or being set up. The foreground features a long white countertop, partially covered in plastic sheeting, with stacks of clean white plates and bowls on it. Two bar stools with dark red upholstered seats and wood backs are visible. Behind the bar, there is a backsplash of subway tile and a back bar shelving unit with open dark wood and black metal shelves. The space appears to be newly renovated or prepared for opening.
    The bar at Emmy Lou awaits finishing touches. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive

    On the bottle shop side of things, wine totes and wine keys will be part of the curated retail experience, similar to Bridges’ experiences living in New York City, with customers returning with wine totes to purchase a favorite bottle or try something new.

    “It’s fun for us, and it’s also fun for the guest who’s coming in to get to experience different things and get to hear a different story and get to try a new thing that they might have never heard of before,” Bridges said.

    The food at Emmy Lou’s

    Customshop’s pastry chef, Adriana “Dre” Cavazos, is in charge of the kitchen as chef de cuisine. She’ll craft seasonal menus for lunch and dinner — along with sweet treats — to pair with Emmy Lou’s wine list.

    Look for an emphasis on shareables: meat and cheese boards, carpaccio, shrimp cocktail and baked brie.

    Chef Dre Cavazos was most recently the chef de cuisine at Marina’s Tapas but will now step into that role at Emmy Lou’s.
    Chef Dre Cavazos was most recently the chef de cuisine at Marina’s Tapas but will now step into that role at Emmy Lou’s. Customshop

    At lunch, customers will find sandwiches, salads, pasta salad and toasts. In the evening, expect a hamachi crudo and small, ever-changing pasta program focused on baked options such as lasagna or stuffed shells.

    A few of the selections will be:

    • Elena Ruz, a baguette with roasted turkey, fig jam and cream cheese
    • Mortadella sandwich on Verdant sourdough, with idiazabal (a Basque sheep’s milk cheese), arugula, pepperonata and evoo aioli 
    • Shrimp cocktail

    A wider view of a newly built or renovated bar area. The long white counter stretches from the foreground, leading toward an open pass-through window to the kitchen area in the back. Several dark red bar stools are lined up along the counter. Above, multiple industrial-style pendant lights with clear glass globes hang from a textured white ceiling. Open metal and wood shelving lines the back wall above a subway tile backsplash.
    At Emmy Lou’s bar, the seats are poised for a peek into the kitchen. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive

    “So just like fun, tasty, cheap, seasonally changing food — not stagnant by any means. The menu will change here all the time,” said Kaifer, a sought-after chef whose touches are also seen on menus at Henrietta’s and Comal Taco Co.

    He praised Cavazos as a “talented chef and leader.”

    “Working alongside Alex and Andres over the years has shaped me immensely as a person and a chef. I’m honored that they trust me to lead this new kitchen and I feel more ready than ever,” Cavazos said in a news release.

    A photograph of the storefront for ‘Emmy Lou’s,’ a business located in a brick strip mall. The name is written in white cursive with a wine glass graphic above a black awning. Large front windows reflect the parking lot and sky.
    Emmy Lou’s is in Dilworth at 2400 Park Rd, Suite H. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive

    Location: 2400 Park Rd, Suite H, Charlotte, NC 28203

    Cuisine: Wine, small plates

    Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, and 11 a.m. -11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

    Instagram: @emmylousclt

    A close-up of the storefront sign for a business named ‘Emmy Lou’s.’ The name is written in white cursive letters on a dark red brick wall, with the ‘o’ in ‘Lou’s’ replaced by a graphic of a wine glass containing a red smiley face. A black awning stretches across the bottom of the frame, and a single black industrial light fixture is mounted above the sign
    Emmy Lou’s signage highlights wine. Courtesy of Emmy Lou’s

    This story was originally published December 11, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

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    Heidi Finley

    The Charlotte Observer

    Heidi Finley is a writer and editor for CharlotteFive and the Charlotte Observer. Outside of work, you will most likely find her in the suburbs driving kids around, volunteering and indulging in foodie pursuits.
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