12-year-old Tacoma wine bar refashioned into neighborhood lounge, but sandwiches live on

Longtime wine bar El Tufo and sister cafe Stink Cheese and Meat has a new owner and a new name for the third time in its 12-year history on St. Helens Avenue in downtown Tacoma.

The Blue Rose officially opened just in time for Pride weekend, in early July. Regulars and occasional seekers of the Monte-Stevo, a combo of ham, turkey, fontina and cheddar dusted with powdered sugar and paired with blackberry jam, will recognize the menu, which will stay mostly the same for the time being. With the head chef joining the new venture, owner Danny Puskarcik plans to offer a weekly grilled sandwich special, as well as a rotating mac and cheese.

“I will still continue to have a stellar wine selection,” he promised.

Puskarcik bought the business, which had amassed a reputation for kind hospitality, great wine and sandwiches unlike most in town, from Jenny Smith and Steve Ramsay. That couple had purchased the wine bar from its original owner, Kris Blondin, in 2018. (Blondin also recently sold her wine shop, Vin Grotto, at 1130 Broadway in the same building as Fujiya.) It has been a fixture of this block since 2011.

Smith and Ramsay did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Writing on social media, they said they were “looking for a new home” for Stink.

The biggest changes at the bar and cafe so far are aesthetics and ambiance.

When Puskarcik took over, he spent the week’s typical days off — Sunday and Monday — tearing everything off the walls, painting them in two contemporary shades, selected per his children’s preference for each: on the bar side, a vibrant teal, and in the cafe, a salmon pink. Most every light fixture has been replaced with Moroccan-style lanterns, and art on the walls showcases the work of friends and local artists. He brought in new stools, and all but a few tabletops are new, he added. In the two front windows are now cozy nooks with a standard table and bench seating.

While retaining the comfortable, approachable atmosphere and reputation as a destination for wine and wine-friendly snacks, Puskarcik hopes to develop the space into an everyday neighborhood hangout.

“This is a bar and lounge,” he said, where ordering a beer is just as normal as a whiskey on the rocks or a glass of wine. He is also developing drinks with nonalcoholic liqueurs and aperitifs, offering anyone who wants to visit “a neat concoction” beyond just a soda or lemonade.

Still, he was attracted to this bar because of its inherent charm, location and built-in menu that was manageable without veering too far into full-on restaurant territory.

“It has its own energy; it has its own style,” he said. “I knew that I wanted it to be something rather simple and succinct — this place came with that.”

Prior to opening Blue Rose, Puskarcik worked for about a decade at Amazon in the company’s small business empowerment division. It provided a stable living, but, he admitted, “It wore at me, and it burned me out.”

Both his parents ran their own small businesses, he said, and having one of his own had long been a goal. Over the years he spent time as a bartender, cafe manager and event producer. He is also a musician, which will reverberate in his admittedly “eclectic music taste” you’ll hear through the speakers, from trip-hop to The Clash, he said.

The name represents a few personal treasures. Yes, he has a blue rose tattoo, symbolizing introspection, but it also recalls his upbringing in San Diego. Outside, signage now features The Blue Rose words and flower, designed and drawn by local sign painter Brian Papa.

The namesake cocktail, a floral Manhattan, is thus a purple-blue hue, made such with a butterfly pea flower syrup.

In the coming months, he anticipates extending the bar — doubling capacity for seating and for fridges, where he would like to stock more cans of beer in particular — and reworking the back corner, currently retail wine shelving, into more room for guests. The cafe side, meanwhile, remains all-ages.

THE BLUE ROSE

▪ 628 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, bluerosetacoma.com

▪ Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

▪ Details: new owner and vibe for St. Helens bar, similar menu with weekly featured sandwich and mac and cheese; full bar with wine, cocktails and beer

▪ Happy Hour: daily 3-5 p.m. — $1 off sandwiches and mac, $2 off drafts and $1 off wells