Crush wine bar to squeeze into Seaside: Jim Altamura setting up an ‘edgy' environmen

Jim Altamura, owner of Destin’s Marina Café and Destin Chops 30A, is expanding his outreach again with the opening of Crush wine bar and café at Seaside.

The establishment is set to open in early March at the former location of Fermentations and Café Rendez-vous wine bar on the town’s downtown circle.

“I appreciated the bar when it was Fermentations,” said Altamura. “The opportunity presented itself and I took it.”

The public can expect to find pretty much what was there before, said Altamura, except in a more edgy, beachy-chic environment.

“We will offer small plates and focus on California wines, although we will have international wines as well,” he said.

Overseeing those wine offerings will be Ashley Laine, a certified sommelier.

Supervising the food offerings will be the chef/owner of Borago, Mark Anton. 

“I wanted good quality control over the food,” said Altamura.

He said the public can expect to find the same small plates at Crush as at his other restaurants.

“The menu will be updated regularly as trends in food change, so will our menu to keep it contemporary and trendy,” he said.

Altamura moved to the area from New Orleans 22 years ago and now lives in Grayton. He opened Marina Café in 1988, Destin Chops in 1996, Borago in 1997 and Chops 30A in 2008.

Altamura said the name “Crush” came from a visualization of what happens to the grapes in making wine.

“We were playing with names and everyone was coming up with conservative names like vine. I wanted something more edgy,” he said.