18 July 31st -Aug 6th, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Oly Salgado (center) is opening the first franchise of Turquoise Wine Bar, which was founded by Laura Hernandez (left) and Jen Sinconis (right). (Sara Crocker) Wine Time West Valley wine bar makes downtown Phoenix debut. BY SARA CROCKER S omething struck Oly Salgado when she visited Turquoise Wine Bar in Glendale as a customer. People knew each other, and if they didn’t, they would make introductions and sit down with strangers. Seeing people make that kind of connection in our disconnected times spoke to Salgado. Now, she’s opening the first franchise location of Turquoise Wine Bar along downtown Phoenix’s Roosevelt Row. “I just saw the welcoming atmosphere from other customers, and that’s what we want is for people to get to know each other and make friends in the neighbor- hood,” she says. “You’re going to feel at home.” The wine bar will officially open on the northeast corner of Fifth and Roosevelt streets on July 31. The space was most recently home to Eat the Rich, a dark bar serving draft cock- tails, beer and hot dogs, from the team behind Killer Whale Sex Club, Pretty Penny and Legends Never Die. After a complete transformation, the wine bar is now bright and airy. A wine wall is loaded with 600 bottles, show- casing vintages from around the world. Crystal chandeliers hang over the dining area, where an expansive blue velvet couch sits underneath the run of windows that looks out on Roosevelt. Just off the main room is a Champagne lounge, which will be available for private events. At the lounge’s center is an accent wall of tufted pink panels crowned with faux florals. Seated at a table or at the bar, customers will be able to choose from pours or flights of boutique wines, spritzes, sangria, beer or cider. Salgado is partial to the wine flights, which highlight classic whites, robust reds or a trio of sparkling sips. Turquoise will also offer small bites, salads, paninis and pizzas. Naturally, there will be charcuterie boards piled with meats and cheeses, as well as pretzel bites with pub cheese. An Italian chopped salad, a fig- and-chevre flatbread and a sausage Sicilian pie will be among the larger plates. Jen Sinconis founded Turquoise Wine Bar with Laura Hernandez in 2022, opening the original in Glendale near Union Hills Drive and 83rd Avenue. Sinconis says Roosevelt Row is the “perfect fit” for another outpost of the bar. “There’s great food here, there’s great cocktails here, there’s great beer here, but what we need is this type of wine bar vibe,” Sinconis says. That vibe is “going to be as much about community as it is about wine,” Hernandez says. Similar to the Glendale location, the downtown Phoenix wine bar will offer a weekday happy hour and a wine club, as well as regular tasting events and live music. The wine bar isn’t the only homegrown spot expanding to Roosevelt Row. In June, Scottsdale’s Culinary Gangster opened across the street, serving an eclectic menu of burgers, gyros and salads. Salgado, who lives in Laveen, will run the wine bar with her husband, Jesse. She worked in finance for 30 years before taking the leap into franchising the bar. She met Hernadez when they were both working corporate careers. “Everything that (Hernandez and Sinconis) are about made me feel that I wanted to be part of it as well,” Salgado says. “They want to build relationships, they want to ensure that people are having fun.” Turquoise Wine Bar Opens July 31 504 E. Roosevelt St. ▼ Food & Drink
