Flight Wine Bar and Restaurant Set to Open in Elizabeth This Summer
Medical professionals turned restaurateurs to occupy former Stanley Drug Store space
Husband-and-wife team Dwight and Vicki Bailey announced Wednesday their plans to open Flight, a new restaurant and bar that will focus on wine in Elizabeth this summer, combining their love of travel, wine and food into the business plan.
Flight will open in the Shops on 7th shopping center at the corner of East 7th Street and Pecan Avenue, where Dollar General was located until the business closed in 2022.
Inspired by more than a decade of the Baileys’ personal travels and culinary experiences, the Flight menu will feature European-inspired small plates and artisanal pizzas cooked in a custom Italian wood-burning oven that pair with rare wines from around the country and world, cocktails, and local and travel-inspired beers. The restaurant will also serve fresh-made bread, charcuterie boards, desserts and sangria.
Flight will offer around 150 selections of wine bottles, with 30 to 50 by-the-glass options, including wine flights. Most of the cocktails will also be offered as nonalcoholic options.
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In a way, the location of the new establishment pays homage to the two owners’ “day jobs” in the medical field.
The property has a deeper history than that, however, as from 1932 to 1997 the space was home to Stanley Drug Store, which housed Jimmy’s Coffee Shop in the back.
The pharmaceutical nature of the space’s history is an inadvertent nod to the new owners’ current professions. Dwight serves as chief of the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Levine Children’s Hospital, while Vicki, who studied nursing at Queens University, is currently the assistant vice president of clinical and quality outcomes at Providence Anesthesiology Associates.
The old Stanley Drug Store sign was recently discovered still looking relatively sharp behind the Dollar General sign once that was removed.
The approximately 2,700-square-foot space will have about 60 seats inside and 25 seats outside. According to Wednesday’s release, “Flight’s atmosphere will be relaxed yet refined, industrial yet elegant, making it an ideal gathering place for date night, casual get-togethers, and group or private wine tastings.”
The family-owned-and-operated restaurant and bar will be managed by Vicki and Dwight’s daughter/stepdaughter Kayte Morton, who previously worked as host and service manager at Supperland in Plaza Midwood. Before then, she worked as a host, server, bartender, expediter, and manager at Midwood Smokehouse on Central Avenue for more than four years.
Flight is set to open mid-summer this year and will initially operate Tuesday to Sunday with evening service during the week and extended service on the weekends. Follow the restaurant on Instagram and Facebook for updates.
