The Riddler, a Champagne Bar Backed by Ladies, Is Headed to Hayes Valley

Hayes Valley is about to get a lot more festive, with the addition of The Riddler, a Champagne bar.

Local PR maven Jen Pelka (Magnum PR) is behind the project, which is taking over the space currently occupied by Momi Tobi's Revolution Cafe & Art Bar. The LLC behind the liquor license is "Hey Ladies," an homage to the fact that it is 100 percent backed by lady investors. The name comes from a step in the Champagne making process called "riddling," which Pelka explains is also backed by lady power.

"It was invented by the 26-year-old Widow Cliquot, a woman who revolutionized the wine-making business after inheriting Veuve Clicquot from her late husband. Basically, she was annoyed that sparkling wines were cloudy with sediment, so she took an old door, flipped it horizontally on two stands, and carved holes throughout the door... she put the bottles neck-down into those holes, and turned the bottles every couple of days until the sediment dropped to the neck and could be removed to leave the wines crystal clear. And voila: Champagne as we know it today."

Details are scarce, but expect more information on the timeline, space, and menu in the coming weeks. Follow along on Instagram for more teasers.

Me r n

A photo posted by Jennifer Pelka (@jenpelka) on Jul 15, 2016 at 1:44pm PDT

Hitting the pavement

A photo posted by Jennifer Pelka (@jenpelka) on Jul 11, 2016 at 7:59pm PDT

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