Find lavender-goat cheese fondue, fun wine and a ‘gelato window’ at new Pierce County bar

Valley Social Wine Bar and Gelato Shop was open for all of three-and-a-half weeks before a fire destroyed the building next door, forcing the business and many others in Sumner’s downtown core to close.

More than 16 months later, it has reopened.

For the first time since October 2022, longtime friends Melinda Jobst and Shawn Harris welcomed customers for a glass of wine and “light shareables” — cheese and charcuterie boards, baked brie with figs and crispy prosciutto, crostini and lavender goat cheese fondue — on March 2.

The intimate space is painted in largely black hues, including the ceiling beams of this turn-of-the-century structure. Striking floral wallpaper runs the length of the dining room, where round gold tables and salvaged 19th-century church pews invite you to linger with friends while, the owners hope, expanding your palate.

“Our goal is to introduce you to a lot of different things,” said Harris, whether that’s a new winery in the Pacific Northwest, an unfamiliar grape from around the world or a commonly disliked varietal that might just change your mind about it.

In addition to glass pours, you can order wine by the bottle or in a curated flight. It’s in the latter where you’ll be able to explore the friends’ eclectic tastes. One of the series of whites, for instance, features an Austrian gewürztraminer, a riesling blend from Yakima-based EZY TGR and a ribolla grialla, a grape typically grown only in northeastern Italy and nearby Slovenia.

“The flights offer an array, from something you might know and like style-wise to variations on that theme to expand your horizons,” said Harris, who until recently worked in healthcare fundraising and events, while Jobst still works in administration at REI.

They were neighbors who became close friends as they raised their families together, sharing glasses of wine along the way; their oldest daughters, now in their 20s, will help out around the bar.

“Both of us lived in Sumner, and we kind of wished there was a place like this,” Harris said when we first talked back in fall 2022, just as they were about to open.

“We knew that Sumner wasn’t doing anything like it,” added Jobst, “and we had a lot of friends who loved wine.”

SUMNER FIRE DELAYS

Shortly after their debut, on Oct. 28, 2022, around 3 a.m., a fire swallowed The Attic, Stuck Junction Saloon, Whispering Hills Market and several offices inside the 111-year-old building at 1003-1005 Main St., their next-door neighbor. A suspect was quickly detected, arrested and charged with first-degree arson; in January, after pleading guilty, 24-year-old Alyssa Rae Leach was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

Thankfully, Valley Social’s building at 909 Main St. suffered modest water damage toward the back — far from the wine bar, but it still smelled like smoke. The entire block, recalled, Harris and Jobst, evoked a campfire.

“I don’t think it actually hit me until three or four days later,” Jobst said at the time. “We were just thinking of our poor little community. Those are the places we went almost every day for dinner after working in our building.”

At first, they were told repairs and necessary checks would take at most a couple of months. Contractors changed, and then a series of delays ensued. The building owner opted to pursue seismic upgrades, installing metal X beams into the ground in the front and back. Floors, walls and ceiling were replaced, and so was plumbing and electrical work. A March target melted to summer, maybe, then fall.

Some of their affected neighbors, including Main Street Tattoo and JoJo + CoCo, reopened within a few weeks. The Buttered Biscuit, which endured severe water damage from the hoses used to quell the fire over several hours, didn’t reopen until May 2023. Others, notably Heritage Quest Library, remain closed.

As the one-year mark neared, Jobst and Harris were hopeful their day would come before 2024.

The final piece of the puzzle they awaited in January was, of all things, a fire inspection.

“It’s been a lot of hard work,” admitted Jobst.

The delays had them scouting other locations, but they had already put so much into this one — and they really wanted to be in downtown Sumner. To keep up with the community, they poured wine and scooped gelato from a portable cart at events, including Rhubarb Days and Nights on Ryan.

That gelato window is tucked into the back of Valley Social, accessible by its own door through the entrance hallway and themed around its fox-and-forest wallpaper. (Kids are welcome in the pickup area, but the wine bar is 21-and-up.) Expect a rotation of four flavors and a sorbet from Seattle’s Gelatiamo.

Look for the wine club to open soon, with limited availability to start. Members will benefit from perks including happy-hour pricing anytime and discounts on all bottle sales. Quarterly case pickups will offer tiers, starting with entry-level priced bottles up to a high-end level.

VALLEY SOCIAL WINE BAR & GELATO SHOP

▪ 909 Main St., Sumner, 253-447-8315, valleysocialwine.com

▪ Wednesday-Thursday 1-8 p.m., Friday-Saturday noon to 9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

▪ Details: full-service wine bar (flights $20-$25, most glass pours $10-$15) and light bites ($5-$22), plus all-ages gelato window in the back; follow instagram.com/valleysocialwine for event and club updates

This story was originally published March 6, 2024 at 11:30 AM.