Uncorked expands with Chop’d

When Butcher’s Block closed its doors in Loshusan Plaza, Kingston, the principals of Uncorked knew it was the perfect spot to bring to life a grab-and-go healthy food salad restaurant.

This new spot will be called Chop’d by Uncorked and is set to officially open at the start of November. According to Anna Kaye von Dueszeln, co-principal of Uncorked, in an interview with Food in the newly renovated space, the project is a “baby” of their Uncorked brand.

“This is an Uncorked baby. If Uncorked had a baby, this is it ... We’ve had the idea forever. The same way that Uncorked was formed, it’s something that we wanted to have for ourselves as a customer, and as a customer, this is what I wanted, and this is what the group wanted,” von Dueszeln told Food, noting that all the stars aligned when the space became available.

“We’ve had the idea for a long time. When the space became available, we realised this is the right space, and so we pulled the trigger and said, ‘Yep, we’re doing it’,” she said.

Uncorked started in 2011 as a tiny space on Hillcrest Avenue. Back then, only retail wine and premium cheese were sold there. Since then, customers insisted that Uncorked explore serving meals, and they answered the call by starting with sandwiches until their enterprise grew enough for them to open a new location at Sovereign North.

“We went more into the restaurant side. It’s still a wine bar with a restaurant, and from there we grew again, and we expanded there a few times, and then we went to Montego Bay for Uncorked West and we opened Uncorked 2 Constant Spring the same week that COVID locked us down, so that was difficult,” von Dueszeln said.

“I feel like we’re an established wine and restaurant [location] now, so this is our new passion. This concept is what we want to do,” she said.

Von Dueszeln said the inspiration for the Chop’d by Uncorked menu came from what people love to eat, and the drive to build on the legacies created by Uncorked. While, Kathy Evelyn, group manager, All Things Food, is the genius who took the ideas from the partners and boiled them down to the current menu, with an over-the-counter buffet-style serving option.

The Chop’d by Uncorked menu options will include: quinoa, celery, radishes, apples, chickpeas, red onions, corn, black beans, sprouts, bell peppers, purple cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, mixed greens, tuna salad, curry chicken salad, lentil salad, power bean salad, avocado salsa, tomato salsa, spiced pumpkin, orange ginger beets, honey hummus, crunch slaw, pickled cucumbers, pickled pineapple, pickled red onion, olives, sweetie drops, green peas, feta, goat cheese, parmesan and house dressings.

These will also be served with proteins such as tofu, chicken, steak or salmon, a variety of fresh soups daily and signature grab-and-go salads.

“We’ll have signature salads and signature bowls, which are preprepared salads and bowls, done to recipe and everybody will be able to see those and order from those. Additionally, you can [make] your own salad or your own bowl. You can come here and [get] a base of lettuce or if it’s a bowl, you’ll get either jasmine rice or [a] quinoa brown rice blend, and additionally, you get four items with that, essential items,” von Dueszeln told Food.

Chop’d by Uncorked customers will also be able to add as much as they want which will be charged separately from there. Retail wines will also be on offer as well as other Jamaican-made items.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com