Bushwick’s New Wine Bar Wants to Buck the ‘Trader Joe’s Model’

Oenophiles of Bushwick, take note: Yes, you are slightly pretentious (full disclosure, I sheepishly include myself in this category) and no, you no longer have to feel bad about it. Henry Glucroft, proprietor of neighborhood gem Henry’s Wine and Spirit, has rustled up the answer to your Chablis-soaked dreams—in the forms of a local biodynamic wine bar.

Sunrise/Sunset has been open for almost exactly a month, nestled comfortably on a quiet stretch of Evergreen Avenue. It’s an unlikely location—a little like the Central Avenue digs of Henry’s wine shop—but this suits Glucroft’s mission. “I try to do businesses where I’m the first,” he says. “Not just putting a café next to another café.”

Glucroft was born in New York, but raised partially just outside of Paris (hence, one surmises, the love of wine). Having lived in Bushwick for six years now, Sunrise/Sunset will be his third local venture—the first was Little Skips, which he co-opened.

Glucroft’s projects all have an entrepreneurial basis, the man himself says, pragmatically. When Little Skips was established, nowhere else in the ‘hood was serving good coffee in a laptop-friendly environment. And, in terms of wine shops, “it was all bulletproof glass” before he opened Henry’s early last year.

Like Henry’s, Sunrise/Sunset isn’t strictly biodynamic—Glucroft points out that the Demeter certification (which confirms a farm or vineyard’s Biodynamic® status, i.e. their holistic outlook and careful cultivation of long-term soil health) is more expensive than many producers can afford.

Regardless, in both shop and bar, Glucroft “definitely tries to focus on the Davids of the wine world.” Not just small-batch wines, but those “made with the right philosophy.” To Glucroft, that philosophy implies winemakers who care about the wine’s terroir, and the land on which the grapes are grown.

People who are hands-on, who are crushing the grapes themselves, “make for a more caring story than the Trader Joe’s model,” Glucroft reasons. Luckily, given the proliferation of wine geeks and service industry people in the neighborhood, esoteric wines aren’t such a hard sell in Bushwick.

As at Henry’s, Glucroft’s new bar isn’t going for the cheapest vinos, but it’s also not setting out to break your bank. Instead, Glucroft hopes for customers who are “maybe not super affluent but care about quality over quantity.”

The 100-strong wine list is as yet unprinted, but Henry says that if you show up and describe your style, he’ll be able to pull out a bottle you like. And Ryan, the head bartender, can rustle you up a cocktail.

Sunrise/Sunset is currently only offering afternoon/evening bar service, and although they’ve been tinkering around with nibbles (a homemade pickle here, a summer roll there), there’s no set weekday food menu.

On the weekends, however, the kitchen has been serving up brunch from a brief menu that includes two savory options and two sweet. Soon, they hope to be open by 10 a.m. on weekdays with café-style service including coffee and pastries (possibly sourced from places like Ceci Cela, Dough, and Balthazar. “I’m very picky about bread,” says Glucroft).

Ladies and Gentlemen, Bourgewick is upon us. You can fight it, or you can settle into it—with a flute of uber-natural cava in hand.

Sunrise/Sunset is located at 351 Evergreen Ave, and is open for business Monday-Thursday 4pm-1am; Friday & Saturday 4pm-2:30am; Sunday 11am-12am. Check out the brunch menu below.