We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jess Pratt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jess, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

Jess and Ythan Pratt wanted to help reinvigorate their community and they spent three years brainstorming ideas for how they might do so. One day it clicked – we were both personally passionate about wine and we wanted to do something that would build upon the momentum of Anoka, MN’s historic downtown district. As we conducted research for the concept, there was a gap in the wine category in the area and overall the wine category was rapidly growing.

Jess, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Ambi Wine Bar’s historic ambiance pairs a warm setting with the energy of live acoustic music and local art. Ambi’s menu features a strong assortment of wines, as well as a curated assortment of small plates, meats, cheeses, desserts, and Wine & Waffle brunch. Ambi Wine Bar was recognized as “Best Wine Bar” by multiple publications in 2021 and 2022 and in 2022 named “Minnesota’s Best Wine List.” Most recently in September of 2022, Ambi Wine Bar was recognized by the Star Tribune as one of Minnesota’s Best Wine Bars.

A quick drive from Minneapolis, Ambi Wine Bar is a one of a kind wine bar experience in Anoka with a warm, winery meets cafe vibe. Centered around the community, Ambi pairs the world’s greatest wines with local flavors from Anoka Main Street businesses including Truffles & Tortes.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

We opened Ambi Wine Bar in May 2019 which gave us about nine months to operate before the pandemic shut down restaurants in Minnesota. For the past two years of our short three year history, we’ve been operating with constant uncertainty. We knew there would be curveballs when launching the business but we didn’t anticipate what was to come. The unusual business environment has forced us to constantly iterate our guest experience, including innovative pop-up events such as a Walking Waffle Brunch and take-and-bake flatbreads which evolved into a staple on our menu.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

In 2019, Ambi Wine Bar announced their business venture with a Kickstarter campaign with exceeded its fundraising goal. The campaign had over 150 individual and business backers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ambiwinebar.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ambiwinebar/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ambiwinebar
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ambi-wine-bar-anoka

Image Credits
Narratore Photography