A Tribute to Bar Part Time

March 3, 2022

Amelia Helland

Amelia reports on the origin story and experience of one of our local scene’s staples, Bar Part Time. Only a little over a year old, BPT’s popularity has exploded: It’s become an institution in the Fault community, melding the music scene with a unique natural wine flavor.

Bar Part Time (also known as “BPT”) is an inclusive community hub that serves “Hi-NRG” natural wines to fit the vibe of a playful adult audience that likes to dance, chat, or sip and swirl to bangin’ beats. It’s a hot new venue worth celebrating, especially if you’re into tasteful wine and tunes.

With a dance hall, a disco ball, a record collection, and its very own DJ mixing station, Bar Part Time is notorious for featuring high caliber vinyl / digital DJs every Friday and Saturday, and at special events like Juicy Fruit – a monthly drag show with local performers. These nights are all particularly packed with party-goers, but they’ve also got lovely low-key crews that come out on other nights of the week.

While facetiously advertising that it’s “probably the best wine bar in the world,” Bar Part Time could seriously try to finesse winning that tongue-and-cheek title with a quality combination of wine, DJ programming, brand personality, and community impact. After all, they curate wines and music to be just as vibey as the people who “make every night feel special” there, they have funny merchandise, and they have a history of supporting good causes. Plus, they have SoundCloud sets available for enjoyment anytime, so BPT fans can spice up their lives while supporting DJs by listening to their selections.

What’s not to love? Instead of trying to be a stuffy wine seller, Bar Part Time essentially caters to people fixing to have lots of fun. They make a point to not take themselves too seriously, as partially evidenced by the drunken cartoons and ironic references to “volatile acidity” on their website and online store. Although they like to joke around, they sincerely embrace volatile acidity (a natural wine “flaw”) because they appreciate the inherently hippie or punk approach to natural wine making. They say organic or no-intervention wine making allows funky flavors to develop, which usually leads to a broader spectrum of tasting enjoyment. Apparently, they lovingly accept risks that come with the territory, which is a testament to their passion for what they do.

Without a doubt, Bar Part Time is onto something. They’ve found tremendous success so far, if the crowds that frequently come out are any indication of this. But how did BPT get to this point?

It all started back in February 2020, when Jeremy Castillo, Justin Dolezal, and Dan Small decided to partner up to combine their passions for natural wine, music, design, fashion, and fun (while working other jobs). Their first pop-up event at Mercury Cafe had natural wine, snacks, and records spinning. They had no idea how popular this party would be, so they were surprised to sell out of their “juice” within the first two hours. It was an auspicious sign that BPT had exactly what the city needed.

When the initial pandemic shutdowns struck, they pivoted to selling trendy merchandise and personally delivering bottles of wine around the Bay Area. This turned out to be a great way for them to continue building rapport with locals while respecting the COVID-related restrictions.

After the country erupted with BLM protests, the Bar Part Time owners leveraged their popping social media presence to encourage ongoing civil engagement. They joined activists calling for racial justice by pursuing creative and strategic partnerships to sell wine or merchandise for the benefit of groups like the Black Visions Collective, the Disability Justice Culture Club, and the East Oakland Collective. They also used their platform to start a donation-matching program, and to support the organic farming efforts of Isaiah Powell and Faheem Carter in the Bayview of San Francisco.

To further demonstrate their commitment to serving communities they love, the Bar Part Time owners created a SoundCloud “Hi-NRG radio” channel in July 2020. This strengthened their relations with DJs and audiences that love genres such as disco, boogie, house, italio, street soul, and reggae.

Soon thereafter, the owners opened an online store, and established Bar Part Time as a local brand with international appeal by marketing merchandise on IG and extending shipping to locations outside of the United States. With their style of cartoons and eye-catching typography, it’s no wonder this shop would regularly sell out… who could resist copping threads with so much personality?

Anyway, as COVID restrictions fluctuated to permit events, they began to throw more pop-up parties at Mercury Cafe, as well as at venues in Austin, Los Angeles, and New York. These events were hits and seemed to effectively help them build brand recognition alongside their merchandising efforts.

Eventually, in September 2021, Bar Part Time shifted gears and opened up full time in San Francisco. According to Jeremy, “the business developed organically, no pun intended.” If anyone had asked what their plans were from the beginning, they wouldn’t have said “opening a wine bar…” yet they did, and it has quickly become a favorite amongst those who like parties with vibrant wine, music, people, and dancing. It’s definitely worth checking out any day of the week that they’re open. Now, not only do they have a DJ residency program, but they have special events and Wednesday tastings for wines that follow some theme, or come from different wine makers (who sometimes might be there).

If you haven’t been out to this venue yet, do yourself a favor and make plans to safely do so. When you go, consider bringing your friends and trying a couple rare bottles with some of their unorthodox bar food. If you’re local to the Bay, check out their wine club! To stay in-the-know about Bar Part Time events, merchandise drops, and other exciting collaborations, give them a follow on IG - they have a ton for us to look forward to this year.

Amelia is a nonbinary fashionista and multidisciplinary artist known for her loving spirit, prescient wisdom, and dry epigrammatic humor. When she isn't working as a data scientist or bonding with cats/community, she enjoys dancing, singing, drumming, drawing, writing, enjoying nature, doing yoga, playing piano, and listening to records.

Bar Part Time Feature

A Tribute to Bar Part Time

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