New restaurant and wine bar opens in SLO County. Take a look inside

A new restaurant and wine bar has opened its doors inside a popular indoor market.

Gravesend Wine Merchant & Eatery had its soft opening Aug. 6 inside Paso Market Walk at 1835 Spring St. It’s also the home to Saint K Wines, a post-apocalyptic-themed winery.

“It was making food and beverage approachable to all walks of life, as opposed to wine being something for just a certain group of people and same with the food,” co-owner Keith Robinson told The Tribune. “Let’s come in here in your work outfit or your PJs, I don’t care. Let’s have a cheese board. That’s cool because it’s got comfort and love in it.”

Robinson owns Saint K Wines with Matt Reese, and they decided to open Gravesend with Robinson’s wife Amy Baer, who is the owner of Epicurean Santa Barbara, a private club that hosts events and workshops.

The restaurant has been a “family affair,” Baer said. Reese credits his wife Stephanie, who is also Baer’s sister, as a pivotal contributor to Gravesend who provided “emotional support,” even though her name is not on the “official list.”

How did new restaurant and wine bar have its start?

Reese and Robinson purchased Saint K Wines from its previous owner, Chris Kiranbay, in November but kept the original storyline and background of the local winery while working to add a restaurant.

The restaurant and wine bar is named after the Gravesend town in England, where Kiranbay’s grandmother lived. She gifted money for him to start Saint K in 2013.

“In this post-apocalyptic Saint K universe, Gravesend was a safe place once the world went completely crazy,” Reese told The Tribune. “We just take that, and we’re applying it to a restaurant concept. We want this to be a safe place, a place of refuge, a place for community to come.”

The concept was there, but Gravesend needed a spot somewhere. Coincidentally, Paso Wine Merchant moved out of its spot, leaving an entire area inside Paso Market Walk open.

“Everything in the past year has primed us for this,” Baer told The Tribune.

What’s on the menu at Gravesend Wine Merchant & Eatery?

Baer did not start out as a chef. She originally worked as a film composer in New York, before she and Robinson made the move to Paso Robles in 2015 and decided to take the leap into hospitality.

Baer’s culinary creations for Gravesend Wine Merchant include entrées like a grilled cheese sandwich and pork cheek and crispy rice, but her artistry shines in the rotating seasonal dishes that highlight summer produce.

“The way I think about instruments and orchestration is the same way I think about food,” Baer said. “Even terminology in music is the same as you use in food, like talking balancing, what texture are you creating?”

A peach and tomato panzanella has been the fan-favorite plate. A BLT, Wagyu flank steak sandwich and warm carrot toffee cake are also on the seasonal menu. The prices for food options range from $6 to $28, a choice that was deliberately made, Baer said.

“Food is expensive,” Baer said. “As a diner, when I go to restaurants, I like to be able to look at a menu and not cross anything out based on price. It was important to use to budget everything out accordingly.”

The restaurant and wine bar features Saint K Wines but also supports 25 other local wineries on its menu.

“Saint K has a home base here, but if you look around, there’s no Saint K branding necessarily,” Reese said. “We’re not trying to pound people over the face with it. It’s that equal balance of Saint K, local producers that we love and want to support and the food. It’s all kind of like the trilogy.”

For more information

Gravesend Wine Merchant & Eatery is still in its soft opening phase, with plans to have a grand opening in early September.

The restaurant and wine bar is open Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For more information about the new spot, visit gravesendpaso.com or call 805-872-6736.

This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "New restaurant and wine bar opens in SLO County. Take a look inside."