WALTER’S WINE SHOP/
UPWELL WINE & COFFEE

Location:  West Seattle, WA
Type: Commercial

Master Sommelier Chris Tanghe and Chef Rosanne Zhu approached our team with a concept built around wine, coffee, food, and education. We assisted them in evaluating possible locations, and they ultimately landed at a storefront in West Seattle near Alaska Junction that had been home to a hair salon for over 25 years. Though tired and worn from its previous use, the space offered a great location, and was roughly the right size for their vision and programmatic needs. 

Our clients’ core need was for a space that could function as a bright, welcoming coffee shop in the morning, and transform into a warm, comforting wine bar at night. Embracing the bifurcation created by the entryway located in the middle of the shallow, wide space, the team designed an area to the right of the entry to hold the coffee counter by day, and become a seating bar at night. By placing the espresso machine against the back wall (instead of on the counter facing the customer), it can be easily hidden behind a pull-down shade in the evening; the lighting scheme responds by darkening this area at that time. A pastry case comes off the counter, and some wine service-essentials are designed with covers to be unhidden when service pivots.

On the left side of the entry, a retail component takes emphasis by day, selling wines and other local goods, which is then augmented in the evening when chairs are put out to create additional seating here. A large table in this area makes room for groups, private tastings, or classes.

The program includes a bathroom, modest kitchen, an office, and abundant wine shelving along roughly half of the available wall space. The shelving was designed to meet our clients’ preferred method of stacking, responding to common wine bottle sizes, all to specify the casework to meet the vision. 

We believe Upwell offers tremendous value to the local community – adding world-class wine expertise (less than 300 people worldwide hold the client’s Master Sommelier title) and exceptional food to its neighborhood. It was a joy to contribute to this mission through design, creating a supportive backdrop for Walter’s Wine Shop and Upwell to flourish and become cherished local staples.

Photography: Carlton Canary
General Contractor: Metis Construction