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Get ready for bubbles by the glass and locally sourced fromage, Johns Island.

The Woodruff wine bar, yet another new concept going into the island’s Crowne Commons Way development, is set to open in the next few weeks. When we visited late October, the walls had just been painted a deep blue, and the framing for the bar was up. Soon, the six burner range will be hot and the cozy, curved banquettes will be occupied by oenophiles and friends.

“We’re excited to get the local crowd,” says co-owner Kayla Bennett, who has lived on the island with her wife, Kristin, since 2007. “It will be cool to see what kind of community we can create.”

The 1,200-square-foot wine bar will seat around 40 people inside with another 400 square feet of patio space. They’ll be open Wed.-Sun., with evening hours during the week and an 11 a.m. open on the weekends. Bennett, who says she’ll be onsite daily, has curated a menu of “small, fun share plates” with “extensive cheese and charcuterie.” They’ll have six reds and six whites by the glass, plus bottles, bubbles, and rose.

They’re still ironing out the drink list — they’ll have local beer and cocktails in addition to the vino — but the food menu is set. The handful of small plate offerings include boiled peanut hummus, littleneck clams, and pickled shrimp, and the cheese is both local — Burden Creek Dairy herb chevre — and imported, with semi-soft sheep’s milk from Spain and soft, triple cream cow milk from France. Check out the full menu here.

Bennett’s been doing weekly wine tastings with Advintage Wines, and says she’ll lead her staff through tasting and training once they come on board. This is the couple’s first restaurant, and Bennett says that while it’s been a learning experience — the original open date was slated for summer — she’d definitely do it again. “We wanted to own our own business, not have to work for other people … it’s been a fun process to see the design come together. Every week just goes by so fast.”

Keep up to date with The Woodruff’s grand opening by following them on Instagram and Facebook.

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