Last year, the Jacksonville Town Center rang in the new year losing The Grape. A Jacksonville Wine Bar stall-wort that anchored the Jacksonville town center bar and nightclub scene when it first opened. Jacksonville wine bar enthusiasts will have a new place to celebrate when Ovinte — described as a “wine lounge” — opens near Brio in Jacksonville Town Center.

Following exterior and interior renovations to the recently closed Original Pancake House at 10208 Buckhead Branch Drive,

One of the partners in the Ovinte Wine Lounge is Chad Munsey. Ovinte is a familiar concept for Munsey. Chad Munsey, who previously served as general manager at other Jacksonville restaurants, including Biscottis and Bistro Aix said

“We’re basically going to take [The Grotto] concept to the nth degree,”

Ovinte will offer a complete line of cocktails and a large selection of tapas.

In 2001, he took over The Grotto wine bar in San Marco and added a tapas menu. Munsey left The Grotto and Jacksonville in 2007 to work with Foley Family Wines in Santa Barbara, Calif., before making his way back to Northeast Florida a couple of years ago.

Ovinte’s exterior will include a pergola-covered dining and lounge area, including Bocce Courts and “understated elegance.”

Since Jacksonville Town Center has opened, more than a dozen chain restaurants, including The Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano’s, California Pizza Kitchen, Season’s 52, BlackFinn, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Mimi’s Cafe, Bahama Breeze and others.

Ovinte, however, would be the first indie standalone restaurant on Jacksonville Town Center’s Restuarant Row.

Across the street from Brio Tuscan Grille, Munsey’s new venture is sure succeed

“We plan to complement what’s already there,” Munsey said.

Before the holiday shopping season, Ovinte Wine bar is set to open in the Jacksonville Town Center.