Meet Jess and Ythan Pratt of Ambi Wine Bar

Charcuterie Board at Ambi Wine Bar in Anoka, Minnesota

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jess and Ythan Pratt. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Jess and Ythan Pratt founded Ambi Wine Bar with a shared vision of contributing to the growth and development of our community. They aimed to offer a one of a kind wine bar experience in Anoka with a warm ambiance. Centered around community partnerships, Ambi Wine Bar pairs the world’s greatest wines with local flavors from Main Street businesses in Anoka including Truffles & Tortes and Lyric Arts Main Street Stage.

When opening their doors in the Spring of 2019, Ambi Wine Bar aimed to maintain the “Classic Anoka” vibe but with a modern twist. More importantly, the wine bar complements Anoka’s existing lineup of local businesses while filling a void in the historic downtown entertainment district – a destination for you to discover wine!

Today their goal remains to help cultivate Anoka’s forward progress, bringing more people into the area and ultimately introduce more people to the town they love. For tourists, Ambi provides respite after a day of shopping the city’s many antique and boutique stores or after a night at the theater. For locals, Ambi Wine Bar is a meet-up space for friends taking part in the city’s many traditions and a front porch for Anoka’s downtown events

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ABC Newspapers: Anoka natives launch wine bar downtown - ABC Newspapers

A wine bar slated to open in Anoka this month is about more than tannins and tastings; it’s about community. Three Anoka area natives are launching Ambi Wine Bar at the corner of Second Avenue and Jackson Street, in the space once occupied by Herr Schmidt’s Inn and more recently by the Redrum smoke shop.

Ambi’s founders grew up in Anoka and Andover and were looking for a business opportunity that built on the momentum they saw growing in downtown Anoka. They wanted to complement the existing businesses and draw more people to their hometown.

“Through market research we found that wine as a category was growing, wine consumption was growing, both in bars and liquor stores, and we noticed that downtown Anoka didn’t really have something in that space,” said co-founder Ythan Pratt, of Blaine. “ And so it fit really well with our objective of getting people down here without pulling from other businesses.” Pratt, who has a decade of experience in advertising. With experience as a small business owner, Jess Pratt will lead operations, and Good will focus on public relations and building relationships with other local businesses.

Ambi already has plans to offer food pairings through partnerships with other local businesses, such as Truffles & Tortes and Anoka Meat & Sausage. It will feature work by local artists as well as regular live music.

The business will focus on creating a comfortable atmosphere for wine drinkers of all types.

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