The historic Sun Prairie City Hall building on the corner of West Main Street and North Bristol Street is now home to Flavors!
The blueberry and lavender flatbread at Flavors! in Sun Prairie is topped with goat cheese and a drizzle of honey.
The historic Sun Prairie City Hall building, which now houses Flavors!, has multiple sitting rooms when customers can hold events or come in during business hours for wine, food and/or cocktails.
The historic Sun Prairie City Hall building, which now houses Flavors!, has multiple sitting rooms.
Jessica Radke and Frank Radke discuss a book while having wine at Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
Decorative signs fill the wall in the wine tasting area at Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
Leighanne Dockerty muddles strawberries for a cocktail at her bar, bistro and event space, Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
Leighanne Dockerty gives a tour of the grand hall event space at Flavors! in Sun Prairie. Flavors! is located within the 1895 City Hall building on the corner of West Main Street and North Bristol Street.
The window trim in the historic Sun Prairie City Hall building, which now houses Flavors!, is original to the building and was salvaged and restored following the 2018 gas line explosion across East Main Street.
Molly Beinborn and Taylor Darnell drink cocktails and play a board game while owner Leighanne Dockerty pours wine at the bar at Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
Molly Beinborn pours a sample of white wine from a tasting machine at Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
The historic Sun Prairie City Hall building on the corner of West Main Street and North Bristol Street is now home to Flavors! on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.
The fall harvest flatbread is topped with root vegetables, maple syrup, cheese and bacon at Flavors!
The late afternoon sun shines into the historic Sun Prairie City Hall building, which now houses Flavors!
Vintage wine glasses are available for customers to use at Flavors! in Sun Prairie. The glassware was once owned by the grandmother of owner Flavors! owner Leighanne Dockerty.
A spinach, artichoke and tomato flatbread at Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
The historic Sun Prairie City Hall building on the corner of West Main Street and North Bristol Street is now home to Flavors!
The blueberry and lavender flatbread at Flavors! in Sun Prairie is topped with goat cheese and a drizzle of honey.
Leighanne Dockerty muddles strawberries for a cocktail at her bar, bistro and event space, Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
Leighanne Dockerty gives a tour of the grand hall event space at Flavors! in Sun Prairie. Flavors! is located within the 1895 City Hall building on the corner of West Main Street and North Bristol Street.
The historic Sun Prairie City Hall building on the corner of West Main Street and North Bristol Street is now home to Flavors! on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.
The late afternoon sun shines into the historic Sun Prairie City Hall building, which now houses Flavors!
Vintage wine glasses are available for customers to use at Flavors! in Sun Prairie. The glassware was once owned by the grandmother of owner Flavors! owner Leighanne Dockerty.
A spinach, artichoke and tomato flatbread at Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
When Leighanne Dockerty retired from her job as a preschool administrator, she thought about opening a quiet little wine bar in her hometown. It could be a place for friends to meet for a drink and nosh, where book clubs could convene for charcuterie and conversation, and freelancers could sip some wine while they worked on their laptops.
But when Dockerty opened Flavors! in the historic city hall building on Main Street in Sun Prairie, she got more than she bargained for.
“A good friend of mine, David Wilder, had purchased a great old building in the center of town and I was initially just helping him with the restoration process, picking out paint colors and finishes,” Dockerty said.
Molly Beinborn and Taylor Darnell drink cocktails and play a board game while owner Leighanne Dockerty pours wine at the bar at Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
The historic Sun Prairie City Hall building, which now houses Flavors!, has multiple sitting rooms when customers can hold events or come in during business hours for wine, food and/or cocktails.
Her first priority was to create a funky but welcoming self-serve wine salon in one corner of the building, complete with vintage tables and chairs, original wood flooring, carved archways surrounding enormous rounded windows and plenty of space to relax with a glass of chardonnay or pinot noir.
But as she pieced woodwork back together and scoured antique malls and estate sales for just the right furnishings, she fell in love with the entire building and its history. As remodeling progressed, Wilder encouraged Dockerty to take over the rest of the spaces as well.
This included a second floor banquet hall that seats 100, an eclectic cocktail lounge, a catering kitchen and an additional meeting room for small groups.
“I knew it would be a huge undertaking,” Dockerty said. “But when I thought about all the possibilities in this unique, beautiful building, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.”
Jessica Radke and Frank Radke discuss a book while having wine at Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
In 1895, the town of Sun Prairie built a multipurpose, Romanesque revival-style building in its burgeoning downtown, designed to be the center of the community. City hall, the fire department, a police station with two jail cells, a library and a bank vault occupied the sprawling first floor. Upstairs, a large open space served as an opera hall and a stage for community dances, social events and celebrations.
Then, in the 1950s, a larger municipal building was constructed for city business, and the original space was divided up for various retail outlets. The meeting hall upstairs was sectioned off into three apartments.
As the decades passed, time took its toll on the building. Then in 2018, a gas explosion leveled several nearby businesses and destroyed much of the glass and original woodwork of the former city hall. There were calls to raze the damaged building, but Wilder, by then the owner, was determined to save it.
Now, more than a century after the cornerstone was laid, the building has been mostly restored to its original appearance, and coud once again serve as a center for social gatherings. Dockerty hosts a variety of events on both floors of the historic property, and she’s determined to create a welcoming atmosphere for the entire community.
The historic Sun Prairie City Hall building, which now houses Flavors!, has multiple sitting rooms.
Dockerty had hoped to open the wine bar portion of the complex in early 2020, but the pandemic foiled those plans. She pushed the opening date to February 2021, but health officials allowed only restaurants to reopen at that time.
Anxious to bring customers in to Flavors!, she developed a bistro menu to fit the criteria. With no formal culinary training or restaurant experience, Dockerty relied on her Southern family’s food traditions to create an array of dishes she could prepare in her small kitchen. She enlisted the help of a best friend and several of her grown children, and began to cater events in the second floor hall.
Gradually, she opened the other parts of the building to the public. Now Flavors! greets guests five days a week and has a calendar full of both private and public events listed on its website. The venue is currently booking weddings and other special events through summer, 2023.
Decorative signs fill the wall in the wine tasting area at Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
The fall harvest flatbread is topped with root vegetables, maple syrup, cheese and bacon at Flavors!
Flavors! serves a menu of appetizers, sandwiches and salads in both the wine bar and the cocktail lounge.
“I love cooking because it allows me to be creative,” Dockerty said, “especially with the charcuterie boards. They are a fun way to arrange food artistically, that’s meant for sharing.”
In addition to platters of meats, cheeses, vegetables and fruit, Dockerty takes the board concept to brunch, where a party can select an assortment of foods arranged like a mini buffet. A board might include yogurt and granola, pancakes, French toast, eggs, bagels with smoked salmon, breakfast meats, fresh fruit and condiments, all decoratively arranged as a mini buffet.
Molly Beinborn pours a sample of white wine from a tasting machine at Flavors! in Sun Prairie.
Flatbreads have become another way for Dockerty to use her creativity. Seasonal combinations change, and the new fall menu includes one flatbread topped with blueberries, honey, goat cheese and lavender. A “harvest” version combines roasted root vegetables, maple syrup, mozzarella and bacon.
Flavors! offers eight wines on tap at all times, four reds and four whites, served via a machine and a plastic card that records pours of two, four and six ounces.
“It’s easy, it’s approachable and it’s a great way to sample a little bit of several different wines to discover what you like,” Dockerty said.
As she looks ahead, Dockerty just wants to see the building bustling.
The window trim in the historic Sun Prairie City Hall building, which now houses Flavors!, is original to the building and was salvaged and restored following the 2018 gas line explosion across East Main Street.
“I’d love to see the building full of all kinds of people, just out enjoying an evening with friends,” she said. “We host everything from baby showers to birthdays. Corporate parties, weddings or wakes … we’ve had princess parties for little kids, special activities for pet and owners, drag shows that highlight LGBT+ performers.
“Basically we want to be a welcoming place for the whole community,” she said. “Just the way the building was originally designed.”
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100 E. Main St., Sun Prairie
Saturday 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Sundays are open for special events. Check the website and Facebook page for more information.
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