Postino WineCafé and Upward Projects is opening up its first Scottsdale location, Wednesday, at Kierland Commons, featuring a second-story loft, and an equal mix of indoor and outdoor space.
Housed inside a soaring, custom-crafted two-story space on the property’s west end, the Upward Projects team rewrote the rules when developing, and designing the Kierland location to solidify the vibe that has come to define the brand over the years.
“For good reason, the path to Postino creation has never been easy,” said Upward Projects Co-founder Craig DeMarco. “Usually, it’s the age of the building and the complicated process of converting its use to a wine café. But with our Kierland location, we started with this sprawling, beautiful indoor-outdoor space that that needed some grit. So we gave it a ton of energy, and now it’s vibrating at a totally different frequency. It’s one of our favorites.”
The new location will feel familiar to anyone who’s stepped foot inside a Postino’s before.
“Scottsdale has been clamoring for its own Postino for years, and we turned over every stone to find the right fit,” said Upward Projects Co-founder Lauren Bailey. “Kierland’s blend of urban walkability with a modern live/work/play sensibility is a great fit for Postino.”
Working with this in mind, the space boasts a near 50/50 footprint of indoor and outdoor space that transitions seamlessly with soaring rollaway garage doors, sliding glass walls, and cozy nooks to slip away to.
The restaurant’s exterior facing will feature a midcentury modern-inspired steel installation crafted by a local artist, while the interior will showcase Postino’s penchant for pop-culture art, such as limited-edition skateboards, a wall wrapped with vintage Playboy pages and the signature Space Invader symbols.
And a Postino-first, the second-story loft space provides a birds-eye view of the action unfolding below, and will also be available as a private and semi-private event space.
The crave-worthy menu is packed full of Postino’s iconic bruschetta, big healthy salads with customizable proteins, hand-pressed paninis baked fresh with MJ Bread, and an award-winning wine and beer program curated by beverage director Brent Karlicek.
Always changing seasonally, new items are always popping up, like the Sunshine Daydream salad (fresh greens with cashews, bacon, grilled corn, green beans, goat cheese, cucumbers, olives, and radish with herb vinaigrette – $10), and the seasonal bruschetta (wild mushrooms, mascarpone, and truffle oil).
Beloved staples return, like the Pub Board (MJ’s soft pretzels served with Schreiner’s chorizo, cornichons, aged cheddar and giant Spanish corn nuts – $13.50), the Raspberry Chicken salad (Organic chicken salad with pecans, apples, gorgonzola and mayo with raspberry vinaigrette over a bed of fresh greens – $10), and customizable bruschetta boards (Brie & Apples with Fig Spread; Fresh Mozzarella with Tomato & Basil; Prosciutto with Figs & Mascarpone; Warm Artichoke Spread; Smoked Salmon with Pesto; Tomato Jam & Fresh Sheeps Milk Cheese; Burrata, Bacon, Arugula & Tomato; Ricotta with Dates & Pistachios; White Bean with Chopped Tomato; Roasted Peppers with Goat Cheese; Salami with Pesto – $14.50)
Open daily for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, Postino Kierland will also offer signature specials such as $5 Before 5pm, offered everyday on all wines by the glass and draft beer pitchers, and $20 Bottle & Board on Monday & Tuesday evenings. Postino Kierland: 7030 E. Greenway Pkwy in Scottsdale, AZ 85254.
