By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
INWOOD — Uptown’s long-awaited wine bar and beer garden opened its indoor space on Monday after more than a year of preparations and community debate over potential noise complaints at the space.
Ouva Wine Bar and Beer Garden's outdoor space at 4957 Broadway still remains closed, and it remains unclear when it will open for business.
Ouva had its soft launch opening Sunday night, and neighbors were invited to sample some of the offerings on tap and from the kitchen.
"my Ouva early review: awesome beer, food looks good, staff great despite cable & beer tap issues - feels like home already," tweeted Inwood resident @laurelnyc.
Ouva's application for a liquor license got the support of Community Board 12 on April 28, but the bar and restaurant ultimately was asked by the State Liquor Authority to agree to an earlier closing time for its outdoor space to help mitigate potential noise complaints.
The outdoor bar will now be open until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The bar can petition the SLA for later hours in six months, by law.
The community board and SLA agreed that the bar would not be allowed to play music outdoors, and will have to hire an acoustics expert to design their indoor space to minimize noise.
Ouva owner Gus Anton did not immediately return calls for comment.
Inwood resident Karla Fisk, who lives in the building behind Ouva and started a petition calling for noise reduction at the new bar, said she was happy to see Ouva open its doors under the current circumstances.
Fisk called Anton "a boy scout compared to some of the villains who own other bars and restaurants in the neighborhood," and added, "but there have to be stipulations for governing the outdoor bar, because it is just 30 feet from people's bedroom windows."
Many locals said they were excited to try out the new space, planning to "bumrush" the bar on Tuesday night to inaugurate the new space.
"Ouva's open. Looks pretty packed. Let's hope it stays that way," tweeted Inwood resident @abu718.
