Dayton Wine Works Is Getting Bigger

DAYTON -- To help make Dayton's Main Street between First and Third streets even more of a party block, Dayton Wine Works announced it plans to set up a second venue in the old Jitters coffee shop space.

The company took over the old Patit Creek Winery space on Main Street just above Fourth Street about a year ago. It reports in summer traffic in particular has been strong and the company plans to offer a lot more space at the 232 E. Main Street location for tasting, food service, an art gallery and entertainment.

"The Dayton Wine Works expansion means that within a single small 'foot print' visitors can easily walk, you'll have five places to eat, three art galleries to tour, two places to taste wine, a micro brewery, four places that feature live music, and a restored theater that rotates between live music, live plays and current movies," Dayton Wine Works Manager Carl Cramer said.

"It's a unique opportunity for visitors and locals alike."

Cramer said he expects the new location to open about the first of the year with the food service's cuisine still to be announced. The company's expansion will allow Dayton to benefit from a twoblock commercial corridor that should be promoted as a new arts and entertainment district in the historic town, he said.

"That's exciting," said Reggie Mace, owner of Mace Meadworks, the other winery in downtown Dayton. "The more the merrier downtown."

Because businesses in the city are still somewhat spread out, the more establishments can group together the more convenient for visitors and the better for retail traffic, Mace said. " That's how Walla Walla got started (in its recent wave of redevelopment)."

Cramer too compares Dayton's potential in that respect to other downtowns now famous for their commercial cores, such as Beale Street in Memphis and Branson, Missouri.

The two-block corridor between First and Third streets in Dayton includes Woody's, Weinhard Cafe, Manila Bay Cafe, Mace Mead Works, Country Cupboard, Homebaked Goodness, Wenaha Gallery, Liberty Theater and several retail stores. Sky Book & Brew is just a block further west.

Parking on that section of Main may become the only limiting factor at some point, Mace said. That's why it's critical to have good signage that points visitors to overflow parking within easy walking distance from the cultural core.

Since it opened in December of last year, Dayton Wine Works has become a fixture in the Dayton community with its wine tasting hours and love music performances.

Dayton Wine Works is owned by Cramer's brother, Dr. Charles Cramer, a cardiologist who resides in Texas. The company is part of Abacus, which has a winery at the Port of Pasco, where it produces Cable Bridge Wines and Private Label Vintners, both produced for restaurants and hotels.

Carl Cramer brought a versatile background from the wine industry to Dayton, having worked for a number of years as a distributor's sales representative based in the Tri Cities.

Among other labels, he represented Hedges, Goose Ridge, Longshadows, Basel Cellars, Reininger and Kiona.

Dayton Wine Works leased the building at 517 E. Main from Paul and Marcene Hendrickson. The Hendricksons operated Patit Creek Cellars there for many years before selling their business to a couple who moved its operations to Walla Walla.

The new downtown Dayton

Wine Works location brings the number of winerelated venues in the greater Touchet Valley area to six. Aside from Mace Meadworks and the two Dayton Wine Works locations, it has Dumas Station between Dayton and Waitsburg, and Spring Valley and Couvillion south of Waitsburg.