A Trifecta of Coffee, Frozen Desserts, and Natural Wine Is Headed to the Southside Trail

A portion of the Southside Beltline trail in Boulevard Heights will soon include an all-day coffee shop serving frozen desserts and champagne in the afternoons and a natural wine bar located right next door. The Boulevard Heights neighborhood resides just south of Grant Park and United Avenue and east of Boulevard.

Kayla Bellman, the owner of Finca to Filter in West End and Adair Park, plans to open a third location of her coffee bar and a wine bar called Side Saddle Wine Saloon this summer in two repurposed buildings part of the Penman complex on Hamilton Avenue.

At 35 seats inside, with additional seating on a covered patio, the Boulevard Heights shop is the largest location yet for the coffee bar. It also features an expanded food menu serving breakfast burritos, egg dishes, and toasts in the morning, followed by frozen desserts like frozen bananas, chocolate bars made from fair trade chocolate and cacao, and ice cream and champagne in the afternoons.

“We love this location for Finca and Side Saddle. It’s repurposing old buildings, and just off of the Beltline and very pedestrian and bike friendly,” Bellman says. “It’s part of our ethos to make Finca part of a community and accessible to everyone. We’re hoping to bring two options to the neighborhood that everyone can enjoy with their families and friends any time of day.”

Brink Design LLC

Brink Design LLC

Brink Design LLC

Located next door in a 600-square-foot jewel box building, expect seating for around 20 people at Side Saddle Wine Saloon between a horseshoe-shaped bar, rail seating with garage doors opening to the outside, and a trio of two-top tables and a booth seating up to four people. Additional seating outside offers tables in a shared courtyard and at a bar along the side of the building.

Side Saddle is a nod to the obstacles and societal pressures women must frequently face and overcome, says Bellman of the name. This includes those encountered in male-dominated businesses like wine and beer. With roots dating back to the 14th century, riding side-saddle was seen as an appropriate way for women to ride horses. The gender-biased practice was said to protect a woman’s virginity and modesty from the vulgarity of riding astride. Bogged down by heavy material and undergarments required to be worn under their dresses, riding side-saddle was often challenging and sometimes dangerous for women when not properly seated atop the horse.

“Women found ways to overcome so many dangerous practices and ideals and succeed despite it all,” Bellman says. “We were always going to succeed despite the many hurdles, despite the extra work demanded of us to move within society. Wine is dominated by men right now, but women are making huge strides in the industry and carving out their own niche.”

Approximately 70 percent of the menu will feature natural and low-intervention wines by the glass and bottle, many from women- and femme-owned wine producers. The latter ties in with the philosophy behind the Finca to Filter brand, which works to highlight LGBTQ+, women, and BIPOC purveyors and community members. For Side Saddle, wine tastings and other community events held at the bar will also center on this mission.

A tapas and small plates menu at Side Saddle leans into Bellman’s roots in the Southwest. Look for raw bar selections drawing in flavors from the region, cheese and freshly baked breads, and dishes made with hatch green chiles. Bellman hopes to launch her own hatch chile festival at Side Saddle later this year, a festival that typically takes place in New Mexico in early September celebrating the eponymous sweet and smoky pepper grown in the state’s Hatch Valley. Beginning at 9 p.m., a late-night menu should offer food and wine specials like parmesan truffle fries paired with champagne.

“As a queer-owned and operated business, it’s important to us to be inclusive and continue conversations surrounding the LGBTQ+ community and women and lifting up their voices,” says Bellman. “We’re telling origin stories through coffee and food at Finca, and now will do the same through wine and food at Side Saddle.”

Brink Design LLC

Brink Design LLC

Brink Design LLC

Anticipated Finca to Filter hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Days TBD.

Anticipated Side Saddle hours: Sunday - Thursday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. to 12 a.m.

680 Hamilton Avenue, Atlanta. fincatofilter.coffee.