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Zu Tarazi, who got his start as a manager at the longtime John Bentley’s in Redwood City and went on to open two local restaurants, is opening his own wine bar.
Tarazi plans to open Bottle Shop at 2627 Broadway St. in downtown Redwood City this summer.
Tarazi said he left the restaurant world recently for a job he “had no emotional attachment to” in corporate food service. But a persistent local landlord who frequents the Redwood City cafe Tarazi owns with his wife Kristi Borrone convinced Tarazi to take over the Broadway Street space.
Tarazi said he’s always been passionate about wine, both culinarily and culturally. (Plus, a wine bar is much easier to open than a restaurant, which would require a physical build-out and more staff.)
Tarazi worked at John Bentley’s as well as his in-laws’ Cafe Borrone in Menlo Park. In 2010, Tarazi and Borrone took over the original John Bentley’s location in Woodside to open Station 1, which has since closed. They opened Kristi Marie’s in Redwood City three years ago.
Bottle Shop will serve a California-focused wine list, heavy on champagne.
“I feel like you can’t deprive people of great champagne if you’re a California-driven wine bar,” Tarazi said.
The bar will serve cheese and charcuterie plates, plus desserts from Kristi Marie’s. Wine will also be available for retail purchases and through a wine club membership.
Tarazi hopes to be open by early July.