The Fink opens in Napa
By Sasha Paulsen
NAPA, Calif. — “What magical marvels are being brought into existence behind this dusty door?” Judd Finkelstein asked in a Facebook post earlier this year. “It may not look glamorous from this angle and at this moment, but soon this portal will open and you will partake.”
The doors did open on Friday night as Finkelstein, aka “The Fink,” and Andrew Salazar, aka “Mr. Salazar,” welcomed guests to the historic boathouse on the Napa River, once Silo’s jazz club and now transformed into a cocktail lounge, The Fink.
Whereas other winemakers have been known to declare that it takes a lot of beer to make good wine, Finkelstein of Judd’s Hill in Napa is known as a “vintner by day, cocktail host after dark.”
While he garnered a considerable vinous education from his parents — Art and Bunny Finkelstein, who founded the Judd’s Hill Winery and MicroCrush in 1989 — he traces his interest in drinks other than wine back to his childhood, when he was asked to get a beer for his uncle at a birthday gathering. As he recounts the tale, he carefully filled a glass with ice, poured beer over it and delivered his creation, only to learn that beer is not generally served on the rocks.
His curiosity about alcoholic creations grew during his college years, he said, when, rather than following the usual drinking routes of cheap beer and wine, he hosted cocktail parties.
Even as he began to take an active role in running Judd’s Hill, Finkelstein found time for a variety of other pursuits, including hosting a radio show and playing ukulele in a local band, the Maikai Gents. He and his wife, Holly, hosted gatherings at their backyard tiki bar. They also became parents of two daughters, Talulah and Ruby.
He founded FOAM (Friends of Ardent Mixology) in 2004 to explore the cocktail scene in Napa Valley. In the early 2000s this was unremarkable, he said. But the situation began to change, sparked by millennials’ interest in cocktails and the arrival in the valley of inspired mixologists such as Andrew Salazar.
Salazar, an award-winner renowned for the Rolodex of cocktails that he put to use at restaurants like Miminashi, spoke to FOAM gatherings. And as he and Finkelstein became friends they discovered that they shared an idea — call it a wish, goal or dream — of opening their own cocktail lounge in Napa.
The Fink, Finkelstein’s childhood nickname, was born — at least in theory.
The first challenge was finding a place. Here they got help from retired restaurateur Greg Cole, who had opened Cole’s Chop House and Celadon, the latter at the historic Main Street mill, which had become the Napa River Inn and home to other businesses, including Silo’s. Cole suggested the shuttered Silo’s might be the home for The Fink.
“I have to admit I never would have thought of it,” Finkelstein said, “or if I had I might never have had the nerve to ask about it.”
As it turns out, the Napa River Inn was enthusiastic about the idea.
“They’ve been great,” he said. The vision for The Fink as “Napa’s neighborhood bar for the world traveler” would include hotel guests and other visitors to the valley as well as local friends and fans.
In January 2022 Finkelstein and Salazar announced the coming of The Fink. Next came fundraising for the extensive renovations. The always-imaginative Finkelstein reached out with a variety of “FUNdraising” plans, including “cocktail development sessions” for supporters to see what Salazar would be stirring and shaking up.
His concoctions were delicious, as were the snacks, which he also devised. Who knew that in addition to a memorable Mai Tai he could also mix up chocolate chip cookie dough? The old Silo’s, however — a windowless, moody space draped in dark curtains — looked like a formidable challenge to transform into a welcoming neighborhood lounge.
Cocktails and tiki being a natural match, they turned to Tiki Diablo for design, aided by their own work. Facebook postings chronicled the progress.
“Sweeping, scrubbing, and smiling,” Finkelstein wrote, “The Fink and Mr. Salazar get to work whipping the kitchen into shape as we begin creating Napa Valley’s cocktail destination.”
He added, “Relevant here is my appreciation for the wonderful support that my friends, neighbors and community have shown me as I create The Fink in downtown Napa. We're getting the job done.”
In July they were finally ready. A preview party presented the makeover. New was the gleaming bar, the centerpiece of The Fink. A row of cozy booths lines the opposite wall. In the center are high two-top tables lit by hanging copper lights.
“We wanted to honor the building’s past — and Napa’s history,” said Finkelstein, as he pointed out the seafaring touches such as ropes, canoes, and old ships’ doors and portholes. The tiki touches are subtle, like the grillwork between the booths, which comes from an old Trader Vic’s, one of the original tiki bars.
One thing left from Silo’s, however, is the grand piano that belongs to famed jazz pianist (and St. Helena resident) Mike Greensill. He performed at Silo’s, and the piano awaits his return to the stage at The Fink. Will the Maikai Gents perform there, too? Finkelstein demurred.
“Maybe.”
In addition to cocktails — Salazar originals and his take on the classics — The Fink will serve mocktails, beer and wine. Snacks besides Salazar’s house-made chocolate chip cookies will come from an evolving menu of international choices.
“We are not completely polished yet,” Finkelstein said.
Greeting guests at The Fink on opening night in a white dinner jacket and boutonniere, Finkelstein looked as debonair as one of the Rat Pack, and one could have expected to see Dino or Frank at the bar enjoying one of Salazar’s creations. Then again, there were guests even more important: a great deal of the Napa community, plus three generations of Finkelsteins — Judd, his wife, daughters and “Mama Fink,” Finkelstein’s mother, whom he describes as “a force of positivity, support, inclusiveness and the bon vivant lifestyle.” (Art Finkelstein passed away in 2010.)
What was Bunny’s word on the latest achievement from her creative son and friends?
“I like it,” she said. “I’m happy.”
The Fink, at 730 Main St., Napa, is open from 4 to 11 p.m. daily.
Sasha Paulsen is a journalist and novelist who lives in Napa.
Bravo, Fink and Mr Salazar! Can’t wait to stop in and indulge!
Congratulations! Excited to check it out!