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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
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Branch & Vine's new Spicy Sausage flatbread featuring local sausage, Aleppo pepper, red onion, provolone, marinara, honey and arugula (Photo by Stephanie Breijo)
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The new interior design includes two new flat-screen TVs, a lounge area and warmer, more modern seating. (Photo by Stephanie Breijo)
New year, new Olio: The café, wine shop and catering operation in the Fan is rebranding as Branch & Vine, and it reopens today with couches, flat-screen TVs, flatbreads and other new menu items.
"It was time for a change, time to establish our own brand," says co-owner Matt Fraker, who purchased the shop at 2001 1/2 W. Main St. with partner Jason Ferrell two years ago. The original owner later sold the brand, and a downtown Olio at 10 E. Franklin St. is still in operation under new ownership. "It was just time to start putting our spin on things; freshen up the menu, the space, the décor, just go in a new direction and make things a bit more cohesive."
The design is intended to be a bit more modern while still offering a rustic feel. Tabletop seating has been consolidated, and a new lounge area to the left of the restaurant features couches and two TVs. Since the Fan-area Olio closed on Dec. 28, Fraker and Ferrell donated the restaurant's previous furnishings and worked to arrange the new chairs — metal and industrial — and tables — warm and rustic — plus streamline the cold case near the register and update their recipes. The pair wanted a name that would evoke the origin of their food as well as roots, earthiness and authenticity, so they settled on "branch," and tied in the shop's wine offerings with "vine."
"Certainly we want to continue to do fast-casual lunch service for folks who want to grab a sandwich before they head back to work," Fraker says, "but also be a cozy spot to hang out in the afternoon or the evening, encouraging folks to have a second glass of wine or a second beer, just be a bit more comfortable."
The food and beverage menus are fairly similar, though nearly all sandwich and salad recipes have been tweaked or upgraded. Arc de Triomphe, the Fan Olio's best-selling sandwich, is still on the menu, but the turkey and bacon stack now comes with gruyere as opposed to brie; the Italian Picnic, formerly turkey, Granny Smith apple, and fig jam, now swaps fig for a house-made tomato jam. Completely new are the flatbreads, all $9, in flavors such as the Spicy Sausage (marinara, Aleppo pepper, red onions, provolone, honey, arugula and locally made sausage) and the Veggie (marinara, artichoke hearts, grilled mushrooms, eggplant, kalamata olives, red onions and feta).
"My big task has been revitalizing the wine program [with] regular tastings. We've done wine dinners and would love to do more of those once we get situated after this, but we're very much trying to become the neighborhood Fan-area wine shop," says Fraker of the shop's bottle selection. The pair is currently toying with a package deal: two sandwiches and a bottle of wine.
Though the rebranding has given the spot a warmer feel and a revamped menu, the focus of the wine selection remains the same: to keep shelves stocked with small-production wines at a range of prices, and, as the co-owner adds, "nothing you would find at a grocery store." Branch & Vine will continue Olio's catering, as well as its hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
"We knew that we wanted the concept to be pretty similar to what Olio was because it was successful and there's definitely a demand for it in the neighborhood," Fraker says. "The location is great, visibility is great — all those things are good and I think people love the fresh sandwiches and salad, so we didn't want to stray too far from that."
Branch & Vine is located at 2001 1/2 W. Main St. in the Fan.
