Changes at Retro Row’s Vine Leave It Very Much the Same

It’s just after 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 15, when I walk into the wine bar-cum-performance space formerly known as 4th Street Vine — now simply Vine — to interview Emily Rollins and Dustin Lovelis, who took over from original owners Jim and Sophia Ritson in December and re-opened in April. Emily tells me Dustin has been called away on an audio emergency

(they blew out their speakers at last night’s show). She’s busy working plus taking care of their infant son (Dylan, who lolls contentedly on a blanket  spread out on the floor). Maybe I could come back in three hours or so?

Lovelis is ready for me when I return, but Emily and Dylan are off, so the two of us take a table on the back patio, which is busier than I expect considering the combination of day/time and the fact that L.A. County has just signaled that COVID isn’t done with us yet by announcing a new indoor mask mandate. That business got this good this soon is a pleasant surprise to Lovelis.

“It was a little slow [at first] because I think people were still afraid to come out,” he says. “The vaccine was still kind of making its way to the 55-and-under crowd. [And] I think it kind of took a while for people’s brains to unravel what just happened and to be comfortable being next to each other even outdoors. I think there was a PTSD that was created. But as things got going and we got our entertainment license and were able to start having events, it’s gotten busier and busier, especially on the weekends. […] It seems like once the vaccine was widely available, it just got busy, and it feels like the way it was before the pandemic — which is really all we could ask for. Anything better than that is a bonus.”

Lovelis says the chance to take over 4th Street Vine came “completely out of the blue. There was no prior conversation about it. I didn’t [even] know the bar was for sale. […] Jim had a buyer from Northern California, [but] called me and said, ‘I don’t know this person; I can’t sell it to this person. But I thought of you and Emily as someone who could take over.’ […] He knew how much music and community mean to us. I think he needed to give it to somebody who cared about those things in the way that he does. And he knew we would keep the staff.”

Lovelis and Rollins had never considered owning a business. Lovalis worked in audio production, while Rollins was a district manager for Urban Outfitters. But with Lovelis “kind of toying with the idea of a career change” even before the pandemic significantly hit his industry — and with Rollins on maternity leave — the timing seemed strangely good. And although they knew nothing about operating a wine bar, they understood 4th Street Vine’s underlying spirit.

“The way that Jim and Sophia built this place and the environment that they created — trying to stay plugged into the community and support music and local art, which is part of what makes this place special — is something I do know about,” Lovelis says. “[…] To us, that was probably the easiest part of the sell. [It wasn’t] just a good business opportunity: it was [also] a good social opportunity. […] It wasn’t actually a hard decision; it just took us a while to figure out whether we could handle it, because Emily was in her third trimester.”

Lovelis calls Rollins “the real hero of this story,” citing not only her ability to handle taking over a new business while on the verge of childbirth, but also noting that it is her business acumen that makes Vine a possibility at all.

For all that, he’s had a front-row seat to the patriarchal bias to which businesswomen are subjected.

“People will say, ‘Are you the new owner?’ to me — and not say anything to her,” he reports. “[…] She’s an essential part of this business operating properly, and she had a baby in the middle of our opening. […] If they could see how little I know about running a business properly [on my own], they wouldn’t even consider me part-owner. This place would run itself into the ground if she weren’t a part of it. I need her influence, knowledge, and background to make this work. [Without her] I’d see the profit-and-loss statement and say, ‘Whoa, I made $4 for the year?!’ We need both our personalities to make this place operate the way it’s supposed to.”

A longtime touring musician and staple of the Long Beach music scene, Lovelis knows music — and that experience and empathy with the performance side helps him to do right by the artists he hosts.

“[From having] always been on the other side of booking, where I’m trying to get shows to play and need to know the sound set-up, what time load-in is, [etc.], it’s nice to be able to anticipate musicians’ needs,” he says. “[…] I know the value of having trust in the venue, knowing what to expect when you get there. I’ve dealt with a lot of shitty promoters and bar owners before; I’ll make it my life’s mission never to be one of those people. Jim had the same mentality. It’s just about being ethical.”

The new owners’ intention is for Vine to be a continuation of what came before rather than a complete rebrand. “We’re doing the same thing with a different logo,” Lovelis says, noting that the reputation the Ritsons built was strong enough to entice someone as prominent as Mike Watt to perform. “To have someone of that caliber be willing to play a free show is huge,” he says. “I couldn’t open up a place from scratch and expect that kind of trust from an artist of that stature.”

One of the only notable changes is that, in lieu of new art exhibitions going up on the walls, Vine has begun publishing an eponymous quarterly zine, each issue featuring the work of multiple visual artists, along with interviews, poetry, and more. This, says Lovelis, allows Vine’s interior to maintain a consistent aesthetic while simultaneously enabling the venue to spotlight a broader array of whatever is going on locally.

It’s barely 6 p.m. at this point, and we can’t help noticing that, as much as they don’t want to intrude, the staff have been covetously eying our table, needing the real estate to accommodate new arrivals.

“It’s still surreal to us,” Lovelis says as we yield to the needs of the clientele. “We’re walking around saying, ‘Whoa, this is happening.’ […] But this doesn’t really feel like work: [it’s like] I’m just hosting a constant house party.”

Vine is located 2142 E. 4th Street, Long Beach. To keep up with what’s happening there, follow them on Instagram: @vine_lb.