by Lauren Kruchten | Jun 30, 2026 | Eat, July/August 2026
In a full-circle moment, North South Hospitality has taken over State of Beer.
It was on a long wooden table inside the OG State of Beer on Hillsborough Street that the North South Hospitality team sketched out most of the plans for their now-ubersuccessful concepts Gussie’s and Hippo Wine Bar. So when the Trophy Brewing team approached them about taking over the beloved bar, bottle shop and eatery, it was a no-brainer.
“When we were falling in love with Raleigh, State of Beer comes to mind as one of the places that helped with that,” reflects North South’s Katie O’Kane, noting the relationship they’ve built with the Trophy team over the years. “Choosing us as the right fit to usher State of Beer into the next phase is, honestly, the most flattering thing in the world.”
For more than a decade, SOB has been woven into the city’s F&B fabric. But while the Trophy crew admits their time on Hillsborough Street was ticking away, they didn’t want the concept to just disappear. “We’ve been big fans of the Gussie’s folks and the way they run their business for a while,” says Trophy co-owner Chris Powers.
As such, much of what locals love about SOB will remain intact. The name will live on, as will much of the staff—“The ‘Lady of the Ladle’ is still very much here,” assures O’Kane. The beer program and familiar fare will stay put as well—though North South isn’t ruling out thoughtful tweaks based on community feedback down the road.
One big upgrade is already on deck: a fleshed-out cocktail program aimed at bolstering evening business. O’Kane assures it won’t simply mirror Gussie’s menu, but there will be more spirits behind the bar.
“It’s so great to hear what people love about the place, and it echoes a lot of what we love about it,” maintains North South’s Vance Daniels. “We’re certainly not here to change that. It’s more to build upon the amazing things already here.”
For Daniels and O’Kane, that preservation is the responsibility that comes with inheriting a local institution. “[Raleigh’s] growth is coming with a lot of change, and I think that’s great,” says Daniels. “But having something that’s been here for 12 years now is important to the neighborhood’s identity—to Raleigh’s identity.”
Judging by the reaction to the announcement, it’s clear the local love for North South runs deep—and they’re eager to see how the Gussie’s gurus shepherd the iconic spot into its next era.
by Melissa Howsam | Feb 4, 2026 | Eat, February 2026
Wine, but make it English.
Do you want a high-toned budget banger—or are you more of a Dad Wine devotee? No matter how you prefer to pour, the lingo around vino—and the culture that shapes it—is changing at warp speed.
Just five years ago, Punch published a viral “new vocabulary of wine,” and since then, the bottle shift has accelerated so rapidly that it already needed a sequel. In just a half-decade’s time, everything from the way we shop to how much we imbibe (and how loudly the internet weighs in) has evolved. The upshot? Wine—and the words around it—is more accessible than ever.
“I’ll admit I still use the nerdy wine words when I’m in that crowd,” says Katie O’Kane, a sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers and co-owner of The Hippo Wine Bar & Shop and Gussie’s. “But even that circle has embraced the more fun terms.”
For O’Kane, the goal isn’t dumbing things down, it’s lowering the stakes—encouraging curiosity without worrying about sounding “right.”
“I find it helpful to be the first to demonstrate,” she says. “If I go first, they’re more likely to vocalize when they’re tasting [in real time]. I also like to connect it to a memory they might be able to relate to: ‘Did you ever go blueberry picking as a kid?’ That’s so much more than just blueberries. It’s the stems, the leaves, the crisp air, the dirt. Then I love to see what they come up with. There’s no wrong answer.”
That comfort level is the ideal—because we can’t all be somms. And that’s kind of the point. “That’s a line I use all the time,” quips O’Kane. “Guests will say ‘I don’t know XYZ,’ and we’ll say: That’s our job! It’s also OK to admit you don’t know everything as a somm. The world of wine is so big and constantly changing—how could you? True expertise is constant curiosity and being able to find the answers.”
Part of the challenge is that many common wine descriptors are wildly subjective, which makes it hard for people to describe wine naturally. Asking for something “dry” or “fruity” can mean different things to different people. Though, she adds, when words get fuzzy, body (light, medium, full) is often a good guide—and hand gestures, tone and personality can do a lot of the heavy lifting.
So whether you’re reaching for a “big red wine,” Dad Wine (same diff—pick your poison) or light-red lip smacker, the real learning happens in the doing. You can’t just read about wine—or “shitpost” about it. You have to taste it, talk about it and trust your own impressions.
“I’m so here for [this shift],” emphasizes O’Kane. “Wine can be so intimidating. Loosening our language has made it more approachable. It’s honestly one of the big reasons owning a wine bar/shop was so appealing to me—[figuring out] how we can make wine less scary and more fun.”
And, really, that’s the takeaway: Wine doesn’t need a perfect vocab to be understood. It just needs an open palate, a little curiosity—and the confidence to say what you taste, even if the word you’re looking for isn’t “correct,” just honest.
Wine Lingo Decoded
From wine shops to social feeds— the lingo on everyone’s lips
Baby fat: Early texture that fades with age
Big red: Bold, full-bodied, high impact
Budget banger: Punches above its price
Clean: Fresh, crisp, uncluttered flavor
Crisp(y): More vibe than structure
Crushable: Easy drinking, low-effort sips
Dense: Concentrated flavors, heavy body
Flirty: Playful, light, easygoing
Fruit bomb: Explosive ripe fruit flavors
Funky: Earthy, wild, intentionally different (think the orange wine craze reemerging)
Jammy: Ripe fruit, not sweet
Juicy: Sweetness-adjacent, not scary
Patio/porch pounder: Made for day drinking
Tight: Needs a minute to open
by Lauren Kruchten | Dec 2, 2024 | December 2024/January 2025, Eat
Moo Deng walked so The Hippo Wine Bar could run.
If the viral sassy pygmy hippo Moo Deng was any indication, the world is obsessed with those barrel-shaped semiaquatic icons. Now, Raleigh’s getting a new hippo obsession in the form of the December-slated and revamped Hippo Wine Bar, recently acquired by North South Hospitality.
The hospitality group made up of Vance Daniels and Katie and Clayton O’Kane—also behind fast local fave Gussie’s—is keeping the same name (with Sorena Dadgar also staying on as the operating manager), but giving it a refreshed vibe in collaboration with Julia Petiprin of Cincinnati-based design consulting company House of Departure, who also helped with the interior design of Gussie’s.
Katie says Petiprin drew inspiration from the name, but instead of going really on the nose with something like animal print/safari vibes, she’s “using colors, textures and lighting to give us warmer, cozier vibes.” Think natural elements such as handmade tile, West Africa-inspired patterns, and natural wood tones and fibers throughout.
“We’re definitely focusing in on things you can’t get other places. There’s a couple of really phenomenal wine bars already here, and, more than anything, we’re just really excited to be part of that community.” —Katie O’Kane, North South Hospitality
And while the OG Hippo leaned more wine shop than wine bar, the trio hopes to shift the new space more bar. “We want it to be a place you could hang out for a while—that could be the spot you are going to that night,” says Katie. “It doesn’t have to just be a place you’re stopping for a bottle of wine on your way home or waiting with a glass of wine before dinner.”
They’re also hoping the addition of food—think charcuterie, tinned fish and the like—will further encourage people to linger a while. And, leaning into North South Hospitality’s “everyone’s considered” MO, Hippo will also offer beer, beer cocktails, shandies and spritzes in response to the national low-ABV trend.
“I find that Raleigh—and I really love this—is looking for lower-ABV stuff as opposed to asking for the strongest thing,” says Daniels. “I think it’s because people are happy here. No one’s drinking to forget; they’re just drinking to have fun—they’re not miserable. … And the spritz menu will really scratch that itch.”
Ultimately, it’s just “damn good wine”—for everyone. “There can be such a misconception of pretension around wine when it’s made by farmers. It doesn’t have to be such a scary, pretentious thing,” maintains Katie, who’s also a sommelier, noting she is a fan of Triangle pros who’re working to change that narrative to have vino be more approachable. … So whether you’re a wine lover or not, rest assured Hippo’s going to make a splash. @the__hippo
by Anna Beth Adcock | Apr 25, 2023 | Eat, May 2023
The Hippo Wine Bar will be bringin’ a ton of good vibes to DTR.
Santa must’ve heard us singing “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” because we’re getting a late gift in the form of Downtown’s new sip spot, The Hippo Wine Bar. The drinking haven will occupy the former Short Walk Wines space and will specialize in natural, low-intervention and estate wines with an intent to appeal to wine connoisseurs and novices alike.
The concept should open any time now (🤞)—and will boast a laid-back ambiance via neutral tones and pops of pink for a modern “trendy but not too trendy” atmosphere.
“I hope it draws in people who are intimidated by wine,” says Sorena Dadgar, one of the owners of The Hippo Wine Bar. “Wine isn’t supposed to be intimidating. We’ll have some fun drinks, and we’re hoping to broaden people’s horizons on what’s new and trendy in the wine world.”… Can we get a hip(po) hip(po) hooray?! hippowine.com
