South Lamar’s Aviary Wine Lounge Adds Full Restaurant

Aviary Wine & Kitchen, formerly known as Aviary Decor and Lounge, is evolving into a full-blown full wine bar and restaurant. The cozy South Lamar shop, owned by Marco Fiorilo, is currently closed for renovations.

When everything is done, Aviary will relaunch with a newly-designed bar, a raw bar, and a full kitchen to support its expanding wine and food menus. Thomas Calhoun, former pastry chef at Lenoir, will oversee the kitchen. The new restaurant will also add lunch and brunch service.

Aviary kicked off a Kickstarter to fund renovations in early March. In less than a month, nearly 150 backers have pledged over $22,000, surpassing the Aviary’s goal of $20,000. The campaign ends on the morning of Sunday, April 16. The wine bar ran another Kickstarter campaign in 2016, but was unsuccessful.

Originally, Fiorilo planned to relocate Aviary from South Lamar after fearing that the change of use process into a restaurant would take too long. There has also been neighborhood complaints over noise and outdoor seating. However, the city eventually approved Fiorilo’s request to turn the store into a restaurant, so he’s staying put.

Rendering: Aviary Wine & Kitchen/Kickstarter

Aviary opened its doors as a retail space for home decor in 2006. It added the wine bar and snack-centric menu components later, where food was cooked on hot plates and in toaster ovens.

• Aviary Wine & Kitchen [Kickstarter]
• Aviary Wine & Kitchen [Facebook]
• Wine Lounge Aviary Isn’t Moving From South Lamar [EATX]
• All Coverage of Aviary [EATX]