The streets of North Brooklyn are saturated with wine bars and bakeries. And they just keep coming. The past few months saw the opening of Lise & Vito, The Noble, Heaven and Earth, Paloma the Bakery, Mya & Brooklyn, and A & C Super. Even Lobster Joint is being replaced by a wine bar.
Greenpoint’s newest opening is both. It’s a bakery by day and a wine bar by night that’s aptly named Pan Pan Vino Vino (120 Norman Ave.), translating directly to “bread bread wine wine,” and referring to a Spanish idiom “llamar al pan pan y al vino vino” which roughly means “tell it like it is.”
Situated on the corner of Norman Avenue and Eckford Street, Pan Pan Vino Vino hopes to compete with these other newcomers because it has one thing they don’t: the team behind Greenpoint’s wildly-popular Nura.
Pan Pan and Vino Vino both opened on Friday, March 1 and were instantly neighborhood-approved, so much so that Pan Pan’s offerings completely sold out early on both Friday and Saturday, prompting the team to close the bakery portion to reevaluate demand.
“We opened both on March 1, but closed Pan Pan on Sunday to amp up production,” Michelle Lobo, a co-owner of Nura and Pan Pan Vino Vino told Greenpointers. She is hoping to reopen Pan Pan on March 15. While the bakery is closed, the wine bar will still operate normally.
Vino Vino is a 25-seat wine bar that opens an hour after Pan Pan closes in the late afternoon. “Vino Vino has been great so far,” Lobo said, calling the wine bar “very neighborhood, very casual.”
Vino Vino’s menu, like the wine bar’s atmosphere, is breezy and unfussy. It focuses on ciccetti, which are small snacks, that will utilize the breads and spreads produced at Pan Pan. In charge of these light bites is Chef Jackie Carnesi, formerly the executive chef at Nura and now the executive chef for the soon-to-be relaunched Kellogg’s Diner.
The wine program at Vino Vino is run by Mackenzie Gassett who will also retain her position as the wine director at Nura. The wine list is comprised of a mix of natural and traditional wines at a range of price points.
Pan Pan is helmed by Greenpoint local Sam Short, who was the pastry chef on Nura’s opening team. Pan Pan’s menu leans into Short’s (and Greenpoint’s) Polish heritage with Eastern European-inspired baked goods, like rye caraway bread, plus various preserves and butters.
Pan Pan Vino Vino was designed and built by Nico Arze and Matthew Maddy, who are also working on Kellogg’s Diner. The duo previously worked on Nura and other local spots including Oxomoco, Lilia, Fandi Mata, and Saint Vitus. They designed Pan Pan Vino Vino’s space to be community-focused, cozy and casual with a slight hint of eccentricity.
Vino Vino is currently open Wednesday through Sunday from 4 to 10 p.m. Pan Pan expects to reopen on Friday, March 15, and afterward open Wednesday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thank you for including the cross street. Now I know exactly where to go and can picture it. Good article.
There are three mysteries in life.
3-Why are we here?
2-Is there a God?
1-Why do hipsters go to wine bars charging 14-20- dollars for a glass of wine when you can get a whole bottle of good wine in a liquor store for 10-12 dollars.