Jacque Medina

Writer
@LivinMedinaLoca

José A. Alvarado Jr. 

Photographer
@josealvarado

In mid-July, the old Imperial Theater building on the corner of Irving and DeKalb Avenues saw its first commercial tenant since the impressive venue began its long journey from theater to knitting factory to storage facility to revamped retail hub.

Irving Bottle, a new and modern wine and spirit shop offers an impressive selection of natural and organic wines in addition to spirits from local, domestic, and foreign distributors in keeping with Bushwick’s growing organic wine/spirit market (think Henry’s and Big Tree Bottles).

“We wanted to open a store in Bushwick that would offer natural wines and unique spirits that are a good value and are presented in a fun way,” Irving Bottle co-owner Matt Harrison told Bushwick Daily. “Something that would appeal to every cross section of our favorite neighborhood in New York City.”

One of Irving Bottle’s most enticing features is that it offers an affordable selection of wines for every palate. Sure, there are higher-end bottles, but there’s also a section dedicated to wines $15 and under. 

The shop also delivers to residences within a 1.5 mile radius.”Everything gets delivered these days,” said another of Irving Bottle’s co-owners Mustafa Hermanstyne. “We offer same-day, free delivery within a roughly 1.5 mile radius (map here) which covers much of Bushwick, Ridgewood, and some of Bed-Stuy. We’re flexible and hope people take advantage of it. We will shortly offer in-store pickup and delivery via our website as well as an app. Stay tuned.”

In addition to the shop’s obvious perks, Irving Bottle is also a hub for local artists to showcase their work. Right now, pieces from Bushwick Collective artist Eric Inkala are on display and available for sale in the shop’s main lobby. 

Irving Bottle’s owners also plan to host a weekly series of tasting events in the coming months; the shop will host a tasting room experience featuring locally-distilled spirits.

“Running a wine store is a really fun way to interact with a neighborhood, meet people from different walks of life, learn what they like, and try to provide it,” Hermanstyne mused. “Since we’ve opened, we’ve met some long-time residents in the area, and we’re looking forward to working with lots of local food businesses when we start our weekly tastings.”