Wine industry veteran Jason Eubanks is bringing his passion and hospitality to Spring Branch next month with The Library Wine Bar, located at 8510 Long Point. The bar is intended as a casual, unstuffy environment for wine lovers from across Houston, offering friendly service and a vast collection of “small-production, artisanal wines from all over the world”.

Eubanks moved to Spring Branch with his wife and business partner, Laurie, a little over a decade ago and they are excited to grow their wine bar as part of the booming neighborhood. Eubanks began his wine and hospitality journey about 15 years ago, shortly after finishing college in New Orleans. The food and wine culture there greatly influenced his trajectory and he quickly began learning and tasting everything he could. Eubanks says that the inspiration for The Library Wine Bar comes “partly from the wine travel books written by Charles Walter Berry, Major Rudd, Kermit Lynch and H. Warner Allen, and the stories they weave around the history and culture of wine”. As part of the experience, guests will be “surrounded by bookshelves containing almost 2,000 books on wine regions, winemaking, wine history, and any other wine related topic you can think of.” 

The Library is currently under construction, but Eubanks hopes to have everything finished in time for a soft opening on Labor Day weekend. It will be in good company, as it’s in the same strip center as Russell Thoede’s and Brad Moore’s rum-centric Loose Cannon Bar. 

The wine list will include an extensive by-the-glass selection as well as over 500 different bottled wines. “With very few exceptions, the wines are made by family-owned estates, each with its own story to tell,” Eubanks said. “Wine is an agricultural product, after all, and we want to showcase producers that respect that heritage and manipulate their product as little as possible. As the name suggests, we also plan to offer an extensive selection of older, or ‘library’, wines, at reasonable markups. We will have pre-WW2 Madeira, Bordeaux going back to the ’70s, Barolo from the ’60s, and plenty of selections from the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s.” 

To help bring together this amazing catalog, Eubanks has brought on beverage professional Brennan Harmeier as the general manager and wine buyer. Harmeier also has years of experience in wine, and his resume includes high-end restaurants such as Ciel and at a’Bouzy.

Most of the bottles on the list will also be available to take home at a discounted retail price. While The Library won’t have a full kitchen, it will still offer a selection of cheeses, charcuterie and small plates for guests to graze on indoors or on the patio, which has an assortment of tables and lounge seating for up to 30 people. That’s an ideal setting for enjoying a cold bottle of Champagne or non-wine options like beer and cider.

Beyond the selection, Eubanks believes that the attention to detail and approachable service will help set The Library apart, saying, 

“We believe that hospitality is the most important part of our business. We want to create an environment where everyone feels welcome and can enjoy a glass (or two!) and feel taken care of from the minute they walk in the door. This goes beyond just friendly and attentive service. When it comes to the wine, we want to bring some of the best aspects of fine dining wine service to our neighborhood bar without the pretension and price tag. When you order a bottle of wine at The Library, it will be served by wine professionals in the best glassware on the market with the care and attention you would expect in one of the nicer restaurants in town.”

Once The Library Wine Bar opens, it will offer happy hour, winemaker events, special tastings and more. Keep up with the developments by following the bar on Instagram. 

The Library Wine Bar will be open daily from 4 p.m. until midnight.

Mario-Sebastian Berry

Mario-Sebastian Berry is a wine and spirits vendor who has been in the hospitality industry since 2002. Currently, he represents Blanco, Texas-based Andalusia Whiskey Co. and multiple wine labels. Somehow, he also finds time to be Houston Food Finder’s associate editor and social media manager.