Williamson Street specialty shop the Kitchen Gallery is taking over the King Street space formerly occupied by Tutto Pasta Cucina Italiana. Store manager Stephanie Kessenich says the business has been weathering the Willy Street construction pretty well but was looking to move to a larger venue. The new King Street store will have a kitchen for cooking classes; the adjacent atrium will be available for special events.
Kessenich hopes to open the retail arm of the store by the first week of October; the Willy Street location will close about a week before the move. The cooking classes will kick in later. They'll feature local chefs and range from demos to participatory, from one-timers to six-week French intensive, says Kessenich. Negotiations are also under way with Underground Kitchen for the Kitchen Gallery to host its meat counter.
A sixth area Barriques coffee and wine location opened earlier this August in the former Atomic Interiors building at 961 S. Park St. (the intersection with Fish Hatchery Road). If you're driving by, you'll likely notice the bright avocado paint job and the big black-and-white Barriques sign. What you might not be able to see from behind the wheel is the modest parking area behind the building, accessible from Parr Street.
The location has been in the works since the beginning of the year; co-owner Matt Weygandt had hoped for a spring opening. The time since has been spent totally revamping the space, which now has the dark, Steampunk-inflected look of the other locations. The awnings and detailing are by Madison metal artist Erika Koivunen, who studied with renowned outsider scrap metal artist Dr. Evermor. The dominant motif here is old bicycle parts.
The cafe opens for coffee at 6 a.m. weekdays, 6:30 a.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. Sundays. Lunches include eight sandwiches and three salads, as are served at other Barriques. "Snacks" include a cheese board, spinach artichoke dip with veggies and pita, and the Mediterranean Experience dip and vegetable sampler. Wine is sold by the glass or bottle. Three beers are on tap and will change up probably every month or so; currently, it's Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale, Capital's Kloster Weizen and Lake Louie Tommy's Porter. Wi-fi is free.
A new farm stand is open at 2705 E. Washington Ave., near the Hawthorne Library. The stand, open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesdays, welcomes all shoppers, but is aimed at giving participants in Public Health Madison and Dane County's (PHMDC) Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program (WIC) access to healthy food.
Since the closing of Kohl's at Union Corners nearly a decade ago, this area is without a full-service grocery store within walking distance. In summer WIC families are given additional vouchers amounting to about $17 that can only go to buying from farmers' markets or stands. The market is adjacent to the East Washington WIC clinic and a joint project of the PHMDC, Hawthorne Library and the Farley Center for Peace, Justice and Sustainability.
Now open: Tempest Oyster Bar, 120 E. Wilson, 608-258-1443. Opening soon: The Wise, Spanish tapas at Hotel Red, 1501 Monroe St., within the next couple of weeks.