EVERETT—Lake Stevens-based Rustic Cork Wine Bar expanded to the Port of Everett’s Fisherman’s Harbor Tuesday, December 2 – the next addition to the Port’s ever expanding Restaurant Row.
“The Port is thrilled to have Rustic Cork as one of our new tenants,” said Lisa Lefeber, Port of Everett CEO. “They have a great brand, excellent customer base and will fit perfectly with the waterfront vibe we are working to create.”
The new wine bar is located next to the Port’s Waterfront Place Apartments and Hotel Indigo, just south of the Asian-inspired Fisherman Jack’s restaurant and South Fork Baking Co., which both opened back in 2022.
Kelsey Olson, Owner of Rustic Cork Wine Bar, opened her initial Lake Stevens location in 2020 as the city’s first and only wine bar. Olson’s goal was to bring Washington Wine Country directly to the Lake Stevens community, offering the state’s finest wines by glass or by bottle.
Olson decided to open a wine bar in her hometown of Lake Stevens after recognizing there really wasn’t anything like that within her city, with many fellow wine enthusiasts having to drive to Woodinville, or further – out to Eastern Washington’s Wine Country – for an opportunity to enjoy all things wine. With the support of her “handyman husband” and her kids, she did it.
“As a lover of everything wine, I wanted to experience the joys of it close to home,” said Olson. “Wine tastings, wine pairings, paint and sips, live music, yummy food boards like charcuterie, hanging with friends while enjoying a bottle, ladies’ night out, date night with the hubby, a place to gather for birthday parties, happy hour, you name it!”
In 2022 Olson opened a second Rustic Cork Wine Bar in Mill Creek, located at 3911 133rd Street Southeast. Her Everett location is the third location overall with a fourth planned for Woodinville coming soon.
In addition to Rustic Cork’s namesake wine listing featuring wines from Columbia and Yakima valleys, the wine bar has a variety of food offerings from shareables (charcuterie boards, stuffed mushrooms, prosciutto wrapped dates, baked cheeses, and truffle popcorn, to name a few) to entrees including flatbreads, salads, paninis, and pita wraps.
The wine bar also serves as a community hub with regular events including ‘Beat the Geek Trivia,’ live music, ‘Corks and Crafts’ sip and crafting nights, and the ability to rent the space out for private events such as holiday parties, weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, and more.
Rustic Cork Wine Bar also offers an exclusive Cork Club where members receive free monthly tastings, 50% off flights, 15% off bottles, 20% off event rentals, 10% off merchandise, plus invites to VIP events – all for just $99 to join.
Rustic Cork Wine Bar at the Port of Everett’s Restaurant Row will be part of the Port’s destination “wine walk,” targeting a mix of wineries, breweries, and distilleries for tap and tasting rooms between Fisherman’s Harbor and Marina Village.
It joins several other Restaurant Row additions including the Muse Whiskey and Coffee, which opened in 2023, Bluewater Distilling, Sound 2 Summit Brewery, Scuttlebutt Brewing, Port Gardner Bay Winery, and Lazy Boy Brewing.
The Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place, the home of the new Rustic Cork Wine Bar location, is a 1.5 million square foot mixed-used development located on 65 acres at the waterfront near downtown Everett.
The location is known for its spectacular views, waterfront access, recreational amenities, and being home to the largest public Marina on the West Coast with 2,300 slips and 5,000 linear feet of guest moorage.
According to the Port, at full build out, the Waterfront Place mixed-use development will include 63,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space, another 20,000 square feet of marine retail, 447,500 square feet of office, two waterfront hotels, and up to 660 waterfront housing units. The Port has already been busy making headway in this vision with its recently opened Alexa’s Cafe, and Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt in addition to the restaurants previously mentioned and the opening of several hotels and apartment complexes.
Upcoming businesses include Marina Azul Cocina & Cantina Mexican Restaurant, Tapped Public House, and a brand-new destination fish market called The Net Shed.
“I cannot tell you how proud I am of our fabulous port,” said Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin at the Restaurant Row’s groundbreaking back in 2024. “Our port is a major economic driver for our city. We all enjoy this part of the port – the waterfront amenities – but I’m always enthusiastic about the industrial side of the port because that’s really the economic driver that creates jobs and ensures that we have a thriving economy which is so helpful to the wealth and wellbeing of our community.”
The Port of Everett’s newly opened Rustic Cork Wine Bar is now open to the public and will be giving door prizes to its first 50 customers.
The wine bar is a tenant of a new two-story, 10,000-square-foot building overlooking the new Guest Dock 5 and Central Marina. The Port is targeting a specialty ice cream shop, spa and fitness studio to fill the balance of the building, it says.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
