A new wine shop and gourmet grocer is coming to a prime space in Montrose. Named Montrose Grocer, it’s a new concept from Heights Grocer owner Mary Clarkson.
Located in the former Craft Creamery space at 1340B Westheimer, Montrose Grocer will build on the success of Heights Grocer as a go-to destination for wine lovers seeking a curated selection of bottles from small producers. While the Heights location is a very intimate, retail-only operation that sells wine, gifts, and gourmet food items, Montrose Grocer’s larger footprint will provide it with enough space to both sell wine to-go and serve wines by-the-glass for on-site consumption.
When it opens later this fall, the store will offer seating for approximately 20 people inside with a couple of outdoor patio tables. It will also serve a small food menu of sandwiches, charcuterie boards, and other snacks.
“Heights taught us a lot about what a space can do and how it can function and how we want to grow into a space like this that allows us to pour a glass of wine to our customers,” Clarkson tells CultureMap.
Clarkson is a hospitality veteran who was a co-owner of Montrose French restaurant L’Olivier, which evolved into Avondale Food & Wine, a restaurant and boutique wine store that closed in 2021. She assumed ownership of Heights Grocer in 2024 from founder James Havens. She is also, full disclosure, a regular guest on CultureMap’s “What’s Eric Eating” podcast.
When presented with the opportunity to lease the space by owners Bobby Heugel and Justin Yu, the duo behind the new restaurant coming to the former Vibrant space, she jumped at the chance to open another business in the neighborhood.
“I believe in Montrose as a fully functioning neighborhood that offers what other neighborhoods are missing out on,” Clarkson says. “It feels as though it’s a very walkable, livable community that I think people want to be in without having to get into a car and drive somewhere.”
One thing that will set Montrose Grocer apart from some of the nearby wine-focused businesses is its soundtrack, which will be supplied by 4,000 vinyl records. It’s similar to the new wave of record bars, such as 93’ Til, Off the Record, and the lobby bar at the Hotel Saint Augustine that pair cocktails with vinyl collections.
Of course, Clarkson will take the wine selection seriously, just as she does in the Heights, but she hopes people see Montrose Grocer as a welcoming place they can stop by to grab a bottle of wine to take home for dinner or for area hospitality workers to grab a sandwich and a glass of wine before going next door to Catbirds.
“We’re trying to make wine fun again. We want this to be a place you can have a glass for happy hour or a special occasion bottle or anything in between. It’s a place for everyone,” Clarkson says.