Building The Iron Bridge Wine Company

By Anthony Mullen



If you've driven down Route 108 near Centennial Road recently, you may have noticed that a local landmark is undergoing a major renovation. The establishment formerly known as Crowns Pub is getting a major facelift, and when it is completed sometime in early March, the only thing it will share with the old place is the address, 10435 State Road 108 in Columbia. In its place will be the Iron Bridge Wine Company, a new cafŽ, wine bar and coffee house run by Steve and Rob Wecker, two brothers with a love of wine, having fun and strong pedigrees in running successful restaurant projects.

Those familiar with the Elkridge Furnace Inn know what the Wecker brothers are capable of accomplishing. Steve was its president for the first eight years, while Rob also managed the facility before moving on to Herrington Harbor, just south of Annapolis.

With the Iron Bridge Wine Company, the brothers plan to use what they've learned from past successes to create the type of offering they have been planning since they first began in the restaurant business. The cafŽ will be unique to the Columbia area by providing its customers with first-rate wines and complementary cuisine in an open, airy and relaxed atmosphere. The intimate cafŽ will initially hold seats for just 44 patrons. In the summer they plan to expand the seating to 88 with the addition of outside patio dining and perhaps an outdoor grill. Future plans call for the addition of some 1,000 feet of dining area and perhaps a four season outdoor pavilion. For now, the intimacy of the existing space perfectly fits the vision the Weckers have for the Iron Bridge Wine Company.

The menu will offer 250 wines by the bottle and 20 wines by the glass on a rotating basis. If you like what you taste, you can take it home with you. The cafŽ will offer any of the wines on the menu for retail purchase. Pricing will be unique in that all wines will be sold at the retail price, with a small corkage fee for wines served in the cafŽ.

Some may ask, as I did, why here and why now? For this the brothers have a stunningly simple answer. "We had been looking for some time for just the right place for this concept," said Rob. "When the space became available, we felt that our vision for the Iron Bridge Wine Company fit perfectly with what we think the people in Columbia and Western Howard County are looking for. Wine has been shown to be healthy in many respects, and when you combine this with the healthy cuisine we plan on offering, we believe the concept is an ideal match for this area."

While the menu has yet to be finalized, Rob has developed a wide range of delightful, lite fare options for both lunch and dinner that will include:

- Spicy crawfish salad in brioche

- Citrus marinated scallops with avocado dressing

- Homemade tapenades with old world breads

- Cuban pork sandwich with black bean stew

Each item on the menu is designed to complement and mix well with various types of wine and will change several times a week. Dishes will be served in smaller portions and will be moderately priced so as to foster experimentation. "Ideally, the typical party of four might order six or seven different menu items and share them around the table," said Steve. "This way everyone gets to try different foods with their wine and get an idea of how they complement each other."

This "tapas" style menu also encourages the interaction between customers that the brothers are looking for. "We are going to create a charming, warm, relaxed place where people can come to learn about different wines, try new wines and just enjoy themselves," Steve continued. "We're hoping people can mix and meet here, while discovering new wines together. We want the Iron Bridge Wine Company to be a place where people have fun and not some stuffy, overpriced venue."

The slogan for the Iron Bridge is "where every night is a wine tasting." To live up to this promise, the brothers plan on having an educated staff ready to answer customers' questions regarding any wine in the cafŽ. There will also be planned events where "flights" of wine-specific types of wines from the same region or of the same variety-will be featured. Lectures may accompany some tastings with the objective being to provide education in a non-threatening environment. "Sometimes learning about wines can be a bit intimidating. We want our customers to feel free to ask any question and not feel as though they are being talked down to," Steve said. "Rob and I take what we do very seriously, but we don't take ourselves seriously; we like to have fun and we want our customers to enjoy learning about different wines and the foods that complement them."

As well as being a destination for the devotees of the grape, the cafŽ will offer gourmet coffees in whole bean and by the cup. This will be served starting at 6:30 a.m. and will be accompanied by pastries, scones, muffins and croissants. To meet the needs of busy Howard County residents traveling down Route 108 on the way to work, school and other places, these offerings will be available through a drive-up window. "You can get your morning coffee, a little pastry and never have to leave your car," Steve commented. "We want this to be a regular stop for people both on their way to work and on their way home."

The Iron Bridge will have wines, coffees, cheeses, pastries and other complementary items available for retail sale, so if you can't get a seat for dinner or lunch, you don't have to leave empty-handed. For those who may not fancy wine, the Iron Bridge Wine Company will have a full bar offering everything from imported beers to rare scotches and aperitifs. The Iron Bridge plans to be open seven days a week starting at 6:30 a.m. and going until midnight most days, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as dessert items, including a full range of dessert wines, for those who wish to stop in later. "We plan to have something for everybody, from the person just starting to learn about good wines and gourmet coffees to the seasoned enologist (someone well versed in the science of wine and wine making).

Those who take the brothers up on their offer to come in, eat something, drink something and have fun will leave not only well satisfied, but also perhaps a little smarter.



The Iron Bridge Wine Company

10435 State Road 108

Columbia, MD 21044

410-997-3456

www.ironbridgewines.com