Ovation Wine & Spirit Bar, which defied the odds by opening during the pandemic, is celebrating a successful first year in business.

Ovation is a wine and spirits bar, based in Oakham's Gaol Street. Specialising in South African wines and stocking local spirits. Owners Bianca and Chris Nix have brought a range of cocktails and wines, live music events, and tasting evenings to the quaint corners of Gaol Street, and are proud to be providing a warm and friendly welcome to locals and tourists alike.

Guests can enjoy wine tasting evenings (image courtesy of Ovation Wine & Spirits Bar)

Chris and Bianca Nix quietly opened Ovation in October 2021, having planned the business from opposite sides of the world:

Before the pandemic, they had both worked on yachts and made their home base in Rutland. When the pandemic hit, Chris was stuck in Thailand for a year while Bianca, who is originally from South Africa, started to build a life in the UK.

"Every time we came home to Rutland, we always felt there were loads of lovely pubs and restaurants in Oakham but no bar culture," Bianca explained. "So we decided to finish working on yachts, start life on land, and open our very own."

While Chris worked on the business plan in Thailand, Bianca set about finding the perfect location in Oakham and securing funding for their dream. However, due to the pandemic, they couldn't get a loan from the bank.

Bianca added: "Looking back, if I'd have known how difficult it would be, it would have probably put me off. Who starts a hospitality business during a pandemic? We've met some amazing people along the way and managed to secure private funding, but we faced challenges every step of the way.

"On the 20th October 2021 we still had tools everywhere and I told Chris we just had to open. So we had a big tidy up and opened the doors. That first weekend we had absolutely no idea what we were doing but the rest is history."

The venue also serve a fantastic range of cocktails (image courtesy of Ovation Wine & Spirits Bar)

Serving cocktails, wines, local spirits and small plates of food, the bar soon captured the hearts of locals and tourists and began to boom, creating five new jobs within the first few months. Now, a year later, the team are finally ready to have a "grand opening" and celebrate with the locals and small community that now regularly attend the stylish wine bar.

She added: "About 80 per cent of our customers are regulars and we've created a great bar culture that feels like a small family. People feel comfortable coming in here and sitting at the bar and chatting to us. We've had two couples meet here and Ovation has been instrumental in bringing communities together.

"Our name 'Ovation' is about bringing people together to celebrate, which after lockdown was exactly what we wanted to do, and we plan to continue doing exactly that and more."

To celebrate their first year in business, on the 20th of October, the team are hosting a private event for regulars and suppliers to say thank you for supporting them in their first year. Following this, on 21st and 22nd of October, Oakham locals and regulars will be able to enjoy live music and drinks specials to mark the occasion.

Bianca serving some of their iconic cheese and nibble boards (image courtesy of Ovation Wine & Spirits Bar)

Bianca added: "We are very grateful and so humbled by the people who have wanted us to succeed and taken an interest in what we are doing. It's been amazing and we can't wait to celebrate."

Ovation is open Monday to Saturday. For more information see the Ovation Wine & Spirit Bar Facebook page, where the team post regular offers and updates.