Arizona Welcomes Its First Black-Owned Wine Bar

This story is part of our new Start. Build. Grow. series, a celebration of August’s Black Business Month.

Phoenix-area wine lovers will soon have a new place to sip. Tempe’s Chic Chef 77 Bistro & Wine Bar is Arizona’s first Black-owned wine bar and the brainchild of celebrity chef, entrepreneur and restaurateur Nik Fields. The Brooklyn native, who now calls the Phoenix area home, has cooked for an impressive list of Hollywood A-listers, including Jada Pinkett Smith and Snoop Dogg.

Field’s vision for Chic Chef 77 is an upscale experience that encourages wine-lovers to step outside their comfort zone and pop bottles they may have never considered before. And she’s carefully curated an international wine menu, including a 200-bottle wine list and rotating selection of by-the-glass pours to help make that happen.

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If the exotic wine selection doesn’t leave you feeling fancy, the food menu, which includes upscale bar bites, cheese imported from Denmark, fresh Norwegian salmon and farm-to-table vegetables from local farmers, should do the trick. And you can end the night with one of Fields’ decadent desserts like crème brûlée and apple pie crumble with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel drizzle.

Fields says the space will play host to paint and sips and private tastings, making it a go-to destination for a great girl’s night out. Chic Chef 77 will also feature an interactive Taste Makers series to educate customers on new wines that includes a table side pour and an on-site sommelier to answer questions.

“We will have the owner of the wine on-site and house international wines from all countries, not just local and Italy, which is the traditional way,” Fields says. “We have wines from Greece, Asia, Pakistan and Poland, but our focus is the majority of wines from Black-owned brands. We will have live music, including DJs, a violinist and poetry on designated nights.”

Chic Chef 77 Bistro & Wine Bar’s grand opening took place in February 2023 on Wine Down Wednesday.

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