By Gina Horan
Where Tchotchkes Meet Tannins —and the Vibe is Anything but Ordinary
I recently popped into Hamrick Family Vineyards and Emporium in Leesburg with our managing editor Roxanne. While she ogled tea towels, tchotchkes and local art, I marveled at the magnificent collection of eclectic, eccentric imported and domestic beer available for purchase. Then I bought a Bitburger German-style N/A to consume at a later date.
As I drooled over the library of brews, the loud doorbell kept announcing the arrival of people who walked right past me into a hidden space I had yet to discover.
In the quaint little back room, proprietors Frank and Tiffany Hamrick delight guests with easy charm and just the right amount of playful gossip in a space that feels like a neighborhood secret. There are two beer taps, a well-stocked bar, barstools and tables for lounging.
“Our story started in 2012 at Maggie’s Attic in Mount Dora,” Tiffany says. “I was behind the bar and Frank just liked to drink wine.” The couple married in 2013, and Frank eventually became a winemaking oenophile.
With encouragement from friends at Dragon Flower Winery, they leased a vineyard in Howey-in-the-Hills and launched their label.
After two harvests, they shifted their focus to Leesburg. The emporium opened in August 2023, followed by the “speakeasy” in October. “We didn’t want to open a traditional bar,” Frank says. “We wanted something that felt a little unexpected.”
Both still work full-time, and with help from mom, manage to run the kind of place that feels thoughtful without being fussy. The speakeasy draws a steady mix of loyal locals and fanatical friends who support the couple in their quest to become full-fledged vintners.
The cocktail menu leans on fermentation, not distillation, which means wine-based cocktails, two craft draft beers and a wine list that reaches far beyond Florida. You can also buy those exotic beers to drink in-house.
Phase two, which will include a full production winery, is now underway. With any luck, they’ll be pouring their first batch before the year’s out and I’ll have tasted all of their 0.0% beers by summer’s end.
You can find Frank and Tiffany behind the shop Thursday-Sunday and hours vary.
Photos: Nicole Hamel
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Gina moved to central Florida in August of 2021 from the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and spent 10 years as a fashion editor, columnist and food writer for The Knight Ridder Newspaper group. She was also a photo stylist and covered concerts, fashion shows and festivals all over Northern California. In 2000, she joined KSAN radio as a morning show co-host and produced the news and sports content there for 4 years. She also covered travel, events and the restaurant scene for KRON-Bay TV. She is a veteran bartender and has worked in hospitality on and off since high school. Her passions include travel, road trips, history books, baseball, tasting menus and most of all, landing in a new city with no map or guidebook. Gina lives in Oxford with her mom, cats and baby hamster.
