CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A wine bistro in Charlotte has closed its doors permanently due to restrictions because of COVID-19.

What You Need To Know

  • The owner of Wooden Vine Wine Bar & Bistro said she had been asking city leaders for outdoor street dining since April.

  • On August 20, they closed down permanently due to COVID-19 restrictions.

  • The owner does not plan to reopen even if street dining is allowed in the future.

The owner of The Wooden Vine Wine Bar and Bistro, Bethany Richey, had hoped she could set up tables and put dining seats on the street outside her restaurant.

“I was working diligently with the city starting on April 23,” Richey says.

A similar pilot program has been successful in the city of Belmont. On weekends, they close down Main Street so restaurants can set up outdoor dining and serve more customers. Charlotte still has not enacted any such program.

“I think our sales were down 87 percent,” Richey says. “We were operating with about 30 seats, and typically our capacity is 85 seats. Without any extra outdoor seating, we just couldn’t operate.”

It’s why on August 20 Richey decided to close down the wine bistro for good.

Local leaders discussed possibly closing streets in Charlotte for outdoor dining during the city manager’s report on August 10. Spectrum News 1 recently followed up about where and if that could still happen in the future. A city spokesperson said it’s too early to comment, but they may have another update as early as next week.

“I wish that the city would have had a little more of a sense of emergency when it comes to this situation,” Richey says. "I feel, if we would have had that outdoor dining program in effect, then we could have sustained at least until December.”