Lena wine bar and boutique offers 60 varieties of vino, 'modern country with a twist' home decor

LENA – Not only can you shop at a neat boutique in downtown Lena, you can enjoy some wine as well.

A wine shop and boutique might not seem like a likely duo to some people, but they’re perfect partners as far as Sugarbakers owner Julie Servatius is concerned. What’s more, the people who would be surprised to find them under one roof might be even more surprised to know what used to be under that roof.

Servatius opened Sugarbakers in November in the former Spare Time Lanes bowling alley at 141 W. Railroad St.

The shop – about a half-hour north of Lake Carroll, just off state Route 73 – offers a wide selection of home decor, including lamps, wall paintings, silk flowers, pillows, purses, linens, table cloths, candles, napkins and furniture.

Servatius describes the store as “modern country with a twist.”

The wine bar is front-and-center, and features a collection of wines from throughout the nation, around the world, and closer to home.

Servatius wanted to offer something different to her community.

"It's fun to come here," she said. "We need things to bring people here. Lena's a wonderful community, and they're very supportive of their businesses."

The more popular world wines come from France, Argentina, Chile and Portugal – ones that can't be found in most grocery or liquor stores. The French wines are some of the store’s more popular selections: The Scarlet of Paris Cuvée Prestige red blend is a hot seller, as well as the Pinot Noir.

"Boy oh boy, do those go," Servatius said. "They really taste good."

Pacific wines from California, Oregon and Washington, and those closer to home also are available. Other popular sellers come from the Lynfred Winery in suburban Roselle, which makes a raspberry wine and a rhubarb wine that doesn't taste very sour.

Mead has been around since the early Egyptian days, and Sugarbakers has a supply of the fermented honey wine from Bootleg Hill in Davenport, Iowa.

Don't know what suits your palate? Each one of Sugarbakers 60 wines can be tried before they're bought. Its full menu is available on Sugarbakers Facebook page.

What must be tried for sure, Servatius said, are the slushies that can be made from its wines and fruits, which are purchased locally from AJ's Lena Maid Meats down the street. Blend them with ice and enjoy concoctions like peach, raspberry mango and pineapple sangria – or all three layered in one cup.

"Stuff like this keeps people calling in and ordering and picking it up," she said. "You have to be inventive."

While you’re at the bar, you may even strike up a conversation about what it’s made from: repurposed wood from the bowling lane. And if you like a little music with your wine there’s live entertainment from time to time at the piano bar.

"You can walk in, have a glass of wine, and walk and shop," Servatius said. "That's fun."

The store and bar wasn't always something Servatius had in mind. She moved to Lena from Freeport after her youngest child went off to college and then came up with a plan to start a boutique business. That became a reality a couple of years ago when she opened a store south of the railroad tracks downtown.

Then the thought of wines intrigued her. She didn't know a whole lot about them, but after she moved across the tracks, she began building up a collection and began learning like a sommelier.

"You don't know until you try what you can do, and it's been wonderful," she said. "This has been a whole new world for me to try something new.

"There's nothing around here like it."

If you go

Sugarbakers Boutique and Bar, 141 W, Railroad St. in Lena, is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and from 1 to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Cash, credit or debit card and checks are accepted.

Find it on Facebook, go to sugarbakersboutiqueil.com or call 815-369-9990 for more information.