When Lou Wine and Provisions opened back in September, proprietor Lou Amdur hinted at a second shop in a “super secret location.” Well, that location is now known: Lou Wine Shop & Tastings will open at 1911 Hillhurst Ave. in Los Feliz, at the corner of Hillhurst and Franklin. 

“Los Feliz currently doesn't have a true neighborhood wine shop,” Amdur says. “But they're about to get an awesome one.” 

The 1,600-square-foot store will have a license to do tastings and serve full glasses of wine. In fact, as far as the city of L.A. is concerned, the shop is licensed as a restaurant. So despite the small issue of there being no kitchen, Amdur could serve food at the store, and he's playing with that idea. “I think we'll do pop-up dinners there. If someone comes through town who we'd really like to work with, we can do that.” ]
While Amdur stresses that this is not a wine bar, he will hold tastings in the space a few nights a week. And customers will always be able to buy a glass of wine to drink while they shop. 

When asked how he plans to run two wine shops, particularly when one of the main features of his current store is the personal service provided by Amdur himself, he answers, “Uh, meth? But seriously, you don't work with wine because you want to sit on your ass.”  He will be hiring a couple of folks to help him staff the shops. 

The wine selection at Lou Wine Shop & Tastings will be larger than at the Virgil Avenue shop, and there will be some more expensive bottles (Lou Wine and Provisions focuses almost exclusively on bottles priced up to $25). He has room for up to 500 wines, though he thinks maybe a smaller selection suits customers better.

“I'm not interested in having a bougie wine shop,” Amdur says. “On the other hand, I can have a much wider price point than I have here. So if you come in and want to buy something special for your parents' 50th anniversary, I can do that too.” 

Amdur says construction on the space, which was formerly a beauty salon and supply store, could start as early as this week. He's hoping to be open some time in May. 

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