Sales Double After FL Pour-Your-Own Wine Bar Adds Pour-Your-Own Bourbon Stations

ST. PETERSBURG — Business is booming after The Study,which initially launched as a pour-your-own wine bar, added new pour-your-own bourbon stations to its offerings in May.

“Sales have doubled since we put the bourbon in,” owner Jeff Velazquez told Patch.

Though he had high hopes for the Historic Kenwood business, which opened at 3100 3rd Ave. N. in late 2023, it struggled during its first year open.

“But now we’re cooking,” Velazquez said. “Ever since [adding the bourbon,] compared to last year’s sales, we’ve doubled them. Wow, this is crazy.”

The pour-your-own bourbon station “took off so much” that he added a second. With the new machine, he serves 16 different bourbons.

The Study will celebrate the addition of bourbon on Friday, 2 to 3 p.m., with a ribbon cutting hosted by the St. Pete Chamber of Commerce. There will be small-plate bites served and live music.

The former Marine Corps firefighter, fell in love with wine and the pour-your-own concept while visiting a bar in the Napa Valley area after retiring from the military in 2018.

“I’d never seen anything like it or heard of it before,” Velazquez said. “I was just so impressed by it. I thought, ‘This is amazing.’”

Looking for something to do in his retirement, the wine connoisseur learned everything he knows from that bar’s owner, who created an apprenticeship program for Velazquez.

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Eventually, he went back to college, earning a business degree. He also moved to Pinellas County, following his parents who had relocated to Seminole two decades earlier, and decided he would open his wine bar in Florida.

Velazquez found another bar he admired, Symposium in Indian Shores Beach, and connected with the owner, asking for mentorship in the industry. Unfortunately, this was just months before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down restaurants and bars and limited how they could operate even after reopening. The bar was forced to close for good.

At this point, he decided he was ready to open The Study.

Now, with the addition of bourbon, the bar has the vibe he’s always dreamed of for it.

“It’s become the date night environment that I wanted for it,” Velazquez said. “Before that, it was like ladies' night. They were leaving their husbands and boyfriends at home. Now, the average customer has both wine and bourbon, husbands and wives sitting together.”

The Study also regularly hosts events, including drag bingo as a fundraiser for the St. Pete Pride organization on the third Wednesday of every month, trivia on Tuesdays, karaoke on Fridays and Happy Hour from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday.