"Vine and Tap wine bar and cafe opened yesterday, December 17, in the mall, just in time to catch any last-minute Christmas shoppers. It was first announced over the summer as the latest project from the prolific Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts, which also owns the recently-opened A Tavola Restaurant & Wine Bar close to the mall, among other longtime New Orleans spots like Broussard’s, Tommy’s, and Ernst Cafe. A press release says Vine and Tap offers a dozen wines on tap, as well as frozen seasonal cocktails like frose, margaritas, and frozen egg nog, bottled beer, and hard seltzers in cans and on tap — all available to-go. The food menu, which will serve mostly typical wine bar fare, will be introduced after the holidays, as will additional seating in the food court’s atrium. Right now, there’s a marble walk-up bar, with a handful of small tables in the space, which was formerly home to a Godiva store, the chocolate company that closed all of its North American stores and cafes in January 2021." - Clair Lorell
