New Menlo Park wine bar now open

Menlo Park has a new wine bar, tucked into the residential Willows neighborhood.

Haven Wine & Cheese, which opened its doors June 21, was launched by two single moms, Sam Martinez-Colson and Lea Redmond, who raised their now-adult children in the quiet neighborhood bounded by Willow Road, Highway 101 and the San Francisquito Creek.

“We’ve been talking about it for 16 years,” says Martinez-Colson. Initially, Redmond had talked about wanting to open a tea shop someday, and Martinez-Colson, who works in HR, said she was game to join forces on the theoretical shop if it sold wine too. Redmond went on to become a co-owner at Oeste in Oakland.

And though they’d joked about the idea for years, it wasn’t until they learned that a neighborhood restaurant space — a former hair salon rezoned to become a restaurant, initially as a sushi joint — was available.

They went to look at the space together and decided it would be theirs — even if it looked “pretty bleak” at the time, according to Martinez-Colson.

And over time, their vision came together. Called Haven, the restaurant’s name shines in an elegant gold script scrawled across the front entrance. There’s a mural by Daniel Huenergardt, and a back patio that was hosting a private event during a recent visit. Interior design is by Julia Goodwin.

Shelves of wine bottles adorn one wall, with many tagged as personal recommendations or as wines made by women or people of color. Redmond is Black and Martinez-Colson is Mexican-American, and curating wine by women and people of color is a big goal at the shop, as is making wine appreciation more accessible.

“We want to be able to share the things we love,” Martinez-Colson says.

In the kitchen and behind the menu is chef Son Souvatdy, who most recently worked at Bottleshop in Redwood City before it closed. He developed the menu, which includes dozens of varieties of tinned fish, plus cheese, charcuterie boards, fruit-forward gazpacho, kimchi mac and cheese, and an array of grab-and-go items.

On the sippable front, wines are available by the glass or bottle from around the world, including many from New Zealand, Italy and Northern California. There’s also a non-alcoholic rosé, several beer and cider options — and plenty of Champagne on the way, Martinez-Colson notes.

Brunch service is coming soon, according to the owners.

Details: Opening hours are 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday and 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday at 1925 Menalto Ave., Menlo Park; havenmenlopark.com.