The Champagne Bar at Oxford Exchange packs a punch of color and whimsy into a 400-square-foot corner of its retail shop — adding a combination of Florida chic, vintage quirk and feminine flair to the storefront along Kennedy Boulevard.

The Champagne Bar officially opens Thursday and will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. It will serve champagne, sparkling wine and champagne cocktails, and be available for private events.

The idea of opening a bar within Oxford Exchange had been floated for years, almost since it opened in 2012, said Allison Casper Adams, who owns Oxford Exchange with her brother, Caspers Co. CEO Blake Casper. But it was tough to envision a bar working with the rest of the Oxford Exchange, which combines a restaurant, boutique, bookshop, coffee and tea bars, coworking space and Warby Parker eyewear store under one historic roof.

When Aesop, a luxury line of skin and hair care products, pulled its display from that corner of the boutique in early 2019, the time finally seemed right, Adams said.

“We kept going back and forth, because this whole concept was based on not drinking, really, and we were worried about it changing the feel of the place — the whole vibe,” Adams said. “It’s easy for me to wrap my head around a champagne bar, because it’s not so liquor-driven. We have so many celebrations here, baby showers and weddings, and so it just seemed like it went with who we are.”

Adams and Jordan Winston, director of the Casper-owned Oxford Design Studio, have created a space very different from the rest of Oxford Exchange, with shades of pink from blush to mauve to neon bar lights. It’s punctuated with animal prints, tropical bird pillows and wicker furniture. The bar is an antique French bakery counter that Adams picked up years ago from a vintage market in Atlanta.

The aesthetic is inspired by Annabelle’s, a private social club in London, which is “all about celebrating, and the more the merrier,” Winston said. “It’s just decadent and over the top.”

Oxford Exchange is also collaborating with Winter Park artist Anna Rifle Bond — co-founder of retail juggernaut Rifle Paper Co., a stationery and gifts company that’s growing into the interior design space with rugs, throw pillows and wallpaper. Bond designed the menu for The Champagne Bar, and the Oxford Exchange boutique sells Rifle’s paper goods.

“I think it’ll be big during brunch,” Adams said. “It’s kind of like when we opened the Oxford Exchange — it’s so exciting to see how people use it.”

“Check out the Champagne Bar at Oxford Exchange –Tampa Bay Business Journal