TILDA OPENS IN THE HEART OF ECHO PARK
New Little Wine Bar is Big on California Wine and Independent Winemakers
Tilda, a new 374-square foot wine bar and bottle shop owned and operated by Echo Park residents Jason Goldman and his partner Christian Stayner opened today on Echo Park Avenue, among other food businesses and neighborhood shops on this walkable, tree-lined corridor. Tilda specializes in California natural wines—served by the glass and available for retail purchase—paired with simple meals at lunch, dinner, and into the evening. Carrie Funk, formerly of Ostrich Farm and Bar Calò, is Tilda’s General Manager, chef, and head of wine curation.
Tilda’s mix of food service, on-site pours, and wine retail takes inspiration from Paris’s caves-à-manger, informal and intimate gathering places that blur the boundaries between restaurant, wine bar, and wine shop. Only here in Echo Park the wine pays tribute to the bounty of California and the principles of natural winemaking.
The decision to focus on natural wines from California grew from the team’s interest in supporting local winemakers, as well as the diminutive size of the space. “Focusing in on California natural wines was a perfect fit for us, and a direct reflection of Tilda’s ethos,” said General Manager Carrie Funk.
“When you’re tight on space you also have to be honest about your priorities. Ours are the environmental and social impacts of winemaking, the price and accessibility of the bottle, and ultimately the experience of sharing the wine with friends. Every one of our wines is a relationship we’ve chosen to invest in, and our winemakers are a reflection of the diversity of our state and community. We are proud to support winemakers who are young, local, female, queer, independent, and socially conscious.”
The space is designed by Stayner Architects who capitalized on Tilda’s small size to create an intimate space with homelike qualities. “The space is reminiscent of a studio apartment — compact and contiguous — so we decided to play with that quality,” said Christian Stayner, the architect and co-owner of Tilda.
Custom-built furniture and vintage pieces that Stayner has collected over the past decade from Hans Bergstrom and Louis Kalf are mixed with Alexander Girard’s ‘Superweave’ textiles and abstract paintings. “We were inspired by the design and strong identities of The Esalen Institute, Braniff Airways, and Sunset magazine in the late 1960s and 70s,” said Stayner.
“We started to think of it as Tilda’s living room, and so wanted to impart the unfussy hospitality of being hosted by a wine-loving friend.” – Christian Stayner
Tilda is one part of a trio of businesses located in the unassuming bow truss building on Echo Park Avenue, which was originally built in 1928 and has been carefully repurposed. Later this year, Goldman will open Etti, a Roman-Italian eatery with walk-up counter service for coffee and a full menu of Roman-inspired fare. The building will also house The Parrot House, a small creative coworking space headed by Stayner’s sister, McKenna, a magazine editor and writer. The Parrot House will be a shared workspace for independent journalists, writers, academics, and others in the narrative arts, and it will offer LGBTQ+ programming, design talks, and other community-driven activities.
Etti and The Parrot House are expected to open in spring 2020. Stayner Architects designed all three spaces, and overhauled every aspect of the building except its original masonry walls and bow-truss ceiling. Their design highlights these original features with 16-foot-tall glass and wood-beam interior walls that allow light to flood from one space to another. “We wanted to bring out the building’s historical qualities while also transforming the space into something new,” said Stayner. “We gave each of the three businesses a distinctive identity but allowed the building’s patina to shine through.”
Tilda is located at 1507 Echo Park Avenue and is open each Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday, and Monday from noon to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from noon to midnight.
@tildawine / @staynerarchitects
ABOUT STAYNER ARCHITECTS
Stayner Architects is a second-generation, Los Angeles-based architecture studio that specializes in challenging design projects for cultural, educational, and hospitality clients. From historic preservation to restaurant projects, and from the entitlement process through design and construction management, Stayner Architects is a new type of design studio that offers unparalleled attention to detail and
sees clients through from conception to completion.
