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You most likely might make a fairly attention-grabbing checklist of what you possibly can be taught by attending music festivals in Italy for 14 years. For Michael Kirkendoll, wine is close to the highest of that checklist, and he’s opening a brand new “wine academy” in East Lawrence to share a few of it — each wine and data, that’s.
Kirkendoll, an affiliate professor of piano on the College of Kansas, has hosted a recent music pageant within the coronary heart of Italian wine nation for greater than a decade. Throughout that point, he’s not solely realized loads about wine, however has additionally met a ton of winemakers too.
“Wine is the best way I expertise the world and tradition, and it’s simply actually enjoyable to share that,” Kirkendoll stated.
A lot enjoyable that Kirkendoll and his spouse, Mary, are going to be residing it. The pair have signed a deal to open the East Lawrence Wine Academy and Tasting Room in a stay/work area within the new Penn Lofts constructing within the Warehouse Arts District.
“You may be tasting wine principally in our front room,” Kirkendoll stated.
The couple may have roughly 2,200 sq. ft on the bottom flooring of the constructing that’s below development at Eighth and Pennsylvania streets. The again half of the area is a standard residence, whereas the entrance half shall be a mixture residing and enterprise area that can home the wine academy.
However what’s a wine academy? Kirkendoll — who’s nearing completion of the coaching to grow to be a licensed sommelier — envisions it as a spot the place individuals will be capable to not solely style quite a lot of wines but in addition be taught concerning the wines via guided tastings or talks hosted by winemakers, cooks or others from the wine world.
The Kirkendolls have been providing a few of these experiences via their Eudora-based enterprise the Uncorked Pianist, which for a number of years operated in downtown Eudora however extra lately has been internet hosting occasions at varied venues.
With a brand new area within the Warehouse Arts District, Kirkendoll stated he’d be capable to develop the enterprise’s choices. He envisions individuals having the ability to enroll in a semester’s value of programs at time.
“We’ll discuss particular person grapes, areas of the world, shopping for wine on a finances,” Kirkendoll stated of doable programs. “We’ll do research of wines of Italy, wines of France, for instance.”
As well as, he’ll additionally use the enterprise as a base to ebook nationwide and worldwide wine excursions. Earlier than the pandemic, Kirkendoll was planning to begin taking tour teams to Italy and different wine areas.
Plans additionally name for the brand new East Lawrence area to be open to walk-in clients two to a few nights per week for basic wine tastings, together with particular occasions like Ultimate Fridays artwork walks. However Kirkendoll stated the plan was not for the area to grow to be a full-fledged bar. And whereas, the residence will embrace Kirkendoll’s grand piano, it gained’t be a piano bar both. Kirkendoll, although, stated he does anticipate the area will home some personal piano concert events, which he arranges in his position as president of the Worldwide Basis for Modern Music.
Kirkendoll stated the enterprise deliberate to serve varied snacks to go together with the wine — suppose cheese, prosciutto, assorted desserts — however the enterprise gained’t have a industrial kitchen.
“The eating places in Lawrence can present the meals,” he stated. “We actually wish to concentrate on giving individuals a wine expertise.”
Kirkendoll hopes the Penn Lofts constructing shall be accomplished in September and that the enterprise might open earlier than the tip of 2021. Nonetheless, the undertaking does require some important approvals from each the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Fee and the Metropolis Fee. The undertaking has filed for a rezoning and a particular use allow that may permit the undertaking to proceed.
That shall be an attention-grabbing course of to look at. The Penn Avenue Lofts, which is being developed by Warehouse Arts District founder Tony Krsnich, have been designed to be live-work areas. Nonetheless, that may be a idea that’s nonetheless comparatively new to Lawrence. Truly, it was considerably frequent in earlier generations, however it’s making a comeback in lots of locations as residents wish to drive much less and have extra stability between dwelling and work.
We’ll see how snug Lawrence officers are with the concept as they’re requested to begin granting obligatory approvals for initiatives.
Kirkendoll stated he and his spouse have been excited concerning the idea. Their unit will accommodate about 20 individuals in a “personal, intimate” setting indoors, he stated. An outside patio additionally will present some further area.
In Eudora, the entrepreneurial couple — Mary owns Yoga of Kindness — lived above the downtown area the place they hosted wine tastings. They, nonetheless, discovered themselves in search of new residing area lately, and Lawrence and the humanities district made loads of sense. After they discovered they may stay within the area they’d work from, the concept actually began to take maintain.
“After we discovered it was stay/work area, it simply made it an apparent type of ask,” Kirkendoll stated. “We’re excited to maneuver and make it grow to be our dwelling. It’s actually thrilling these kind of stay/work alternatives have gotten obtainable once more.”
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