Downers Grove's Cellar Door continues to stress fine wine selection, relaxed atmosphere

DOWNERS GROVE – For more than a decade, Cellar Door has been a fixture of downtown Downers Grove.

The location, both a wine bar and wine shop, has been a part of – and greatly benefited from – what General Manager Ryan Jansky called the resurgence of downtown Downers Grove.

"The downtown area of Downers Grove has really been transformed the last 12 years," he said. "It's grown from just a couple places to huge strips of restaurants and businesses."

Jansky said Cellar Door had found its spot in the area as a provider of quality wines at various price points, with a retail side and a variety of small plates for groups to enjoy – a good recipe for regulars and new patrons, he said.

The food includes an impressive array of gourmet cheese and charcuterie options, dips, salads, focaccia pizza and paninis.

The manager said he personally selects the wine and beer menu, with an emphasis on well-curated, quality and diverse options.

"If you're at some stores, you go to the Cabernet section and you're looking at 100 different bottles – if you don't know what you're doing, you're just buying for the label," he said. "Here...I've tasted every wine, I know what they are and that they're good."

The menu is carefully crafted to cater to those with new or developing palates through wine lovers, with bottles being sold at retail prices with a $10 corking fee for enjoying the bottle in the restaurant.

But ultimately, a huge source of the restaurant's success is its small, dedicated staff, Jansky said.

"We get a ton of regulars," he said. "It's a small place, so we can only sit 50 or so at a time. ... Some of our staff have been here for a long time, and when they know you and you know them, there's a closer relationship there."

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If you go

What: Cellar Door

Address: 5150-A Main St., Downers Grove

Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday, noon to 10 p.m. Sunday

Info: 630-241-2030, cellardoorwine.com