During my days as a Silver Lake denizen, Silverlake Wine was a de facto community center, with winemakers and chefs finding a forum in Randy Clement, April Langford and George Cossette’s boutique shop. Many Sunday afternoons involved standing amidst bottle-filled retail islands as chefs like Phil & Michelle Wojtowicz (Big Sur Bakery) and Matthew Poley & Tara Maxey (Heirloom LA) presented pairings with winemakers like Bob Lindquist (Qupé) and Maynard James Keenan (Caduceus). The shtick-free proprietors turned me on to a bunch of wines, beers and spirits, and to start May, Clement, Langford, and longtime SLW customer Joe Capella opened Everson Royce across from Pasadena’s Memorial Park.

The trio named the shop for Clement and Langford’s identical twin sons, Everson and Royce. Enter the store and find wine islands that they group more or less geographically. Southern Hemisphere houses bottles from Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa; Spain from anywhere; and “war torn Europe.” They have multiple American islands, including a west wall devoted to everything U.S. that isn’t Chardonnay or Pinot. During my visit, they were in the process of filling northern shelves with more than 300 different spirits and beers. Regardless of location, Clement said, “We will be operating under the same mantra – boutique small production selections.” Joe Capella said to expect 1/3 overlap with Silverlake stock and a focus on “great customer service.”

They once again enlisted MASS architect Ana Henton to mold the space, just as she did with Silverlake Wine. She made counters, centerpieces and the checkout area from old wood wine racks. They have a separate bar, and nobody will be drinking in the aisles at Everson Royce, by law. However, they do have eight wines on tap, four whites and four reds, each day.

Silverlake Wine’s Sunday tastings have become gospel, and the more casual Monday and Thursday tastings became part of the routine for many Eastside wine lovers as well. Everson Royce will host just as many tastings, but on different days. EvRo, as Clement calls the new shop, is scheduling tastings on Tuesday and Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons from 2-5 p.m. This is part of an effort to become another neighborhood staple. As Clement said, “I want to meet every single person in Pasadena. That is my goal.”