Southlake Gets a New Wine Bar With Food Board Power — Postino Grows Its Texas Footprint

Originally founded by Lauren Bailey (who was born in San Antonio) and Craig DeMarco in 2001, Postino WineCafe was designed to be an accessible and welcoming wine bar. A place to unwind with co-workers, catch up with friends, or enjoy a leisurely brunch on the weekends. Now Southlake has a new Postino of its own.

It can be found in a 5,000-square-foot space at 1440 Main Street, adjacent to Trader Joe’s, in Southlake Town Square.

Restaurant group Upward Projects is behind Postino, which is named after its first restaurant, which is housed in a former post office in Phoenix. Postino WineCafes are currently spread throughout Arizona, Colorado, California, Georgia and Texas. The first to land in Texas was the Houston Postino which opened in The Heights in the spring of 2018.

Southlake marks Postino’s ninth restaurant in Texas. “With Southlake, we now have 26 Postino locations,” Bailey tells PaperCity Fort Worth.

“We’re really excited about Texas and we do have others in the works. We’re restoring a building in San Antonio’s South Broadway set to open in 2024 and we’ll be opening our first Austin restaurant at the end of 2024.”

This new Southlake wine haven is just the beginning of Postino’s continued Texas expansion.

Postino’s Menu Power

At Postino WineCafe, the menu is hyper shareable by design.

“Connection has always been important to us — whether it be an overdue catch-up with friends, a celebration of a significant life milestone, or a family outing,” Bailey says. “Our tables are meant to be sacred spaces for people to truly connect.”

Postino’s menu includes a selection of what the menu dubs Snacky Things, including grilled chicken and filet skewers served with Sicilian garlic yogurt dressing; shrimp scampi made with butter-poached jumbo shrimp, artichokes, Calabrian chilis and a splash of a Chablis; and the crispy cauliflower dressed with sultana raisins, capers and a Romesco drizzle.

“What really sets us apart are our signature bruschetta boards,” Bailey tells PaperCity. “Reimagined from the classic tomato and basil combination, we’ve crafted a variety of unique and different flavor pairings to build your own board-sharing experience.”

At Postino, this classic Italian starter takes up its own section of the menu, with 12 different variations, including prosciutto di Parma; fresh fig and mascarpone; sweet n’ spicy pepper jam and goat cheese; and ricotta, dates and pistachio. Postino’s charcuterie boards are also geared around providing nibbles to enjoy with wine or cocktails.

There are entree portioned salads, house made soups and pressed paninis served on either ciabatta or focaccia bread. Postino’s breakfast bites include ricotta fritters and essentials like the P.R.E.A.M. bowl which is served with grilled chicken and steak skewers, eggs, broccolini, avocado, Parmigiano Reggiano, warm heritage grains, Romesco and toasted hemp seed.

To wash it all down, Postino’s advanced sommelier and vice president of beverage Brent Karlicek tailors a seasonal wine and beer program, aiming to make it both “exploratory and approachable.” Expect some 30 beer selections and of course a curated range of global wines that Karlicek changes seasonally.

Postino is only one of Upward Projects’ five different restaurant offerings. The others are Joyride Taco House, Federal Pizza, Windsor and Churn. These four have only one or two locations each and are all still only in Arizona.

“Right now, our primary spotlight is on Postino,” Bailey tells PaperCity. “We believe we’re bringing something really unique to the table in the wine space with Postino and we want to prioritize that distinctive experience.”

A Peek Inside Postino Southlake

Postino brings a daily happy hour and a menu just made for sharing, and interiors which are tailor made to each particular neighborhood setting. The feel is supposed to be laid-back and loungey, inviting you to kick back and stay a while.

Each Postino is outfitted with interesting art installations, plus locally procured design finds ― from vintage to Mid-century modern picks.

In Southlake, Postino pays tribute to the iconic Back to The Future movies. They were the springboard for visionary Southlake architect Brian Stebbins’s original design of Southlake Town Square itself, which he achieved with the partnership of David M. Schwarz (who is well known for many notable spaces in North Texas).

The most notable feature of Southlake’s new Postino is a wall filled with close to 400 vintage clocks. That is balanced by the ample greenery that carries throughout the space, making it feel a bit like a romantic orangery. Other design elements include high ceilings, warm woods, bookshelves, bluish-gray subway tiles and garage doors that bring the patio weather inside.

But the vibe may be even more important.

“Our entire menu was intentionally designed without a strict beginning or end, affording guests the freedom to sit, sip and nosh as long as they desire and we welcome it,” Bailey says.