The Grape & Grain Exchange — Restaurant in Jacksonville

I have been going to this establishment since it opened. I normally have a decent time and spend a good amount of money. Last night I went with a friend and was sitting at the bar. We were having a personal conversation and cutting up. I guess the female bartender over heard a bit of my conversation and decided to cut me off, after two beers and one cocktail. I can not imagine what I might have said to my friend that would have made her do this. I did not even have a buzz, much less deserve to be cut off. Why wouldn't she talk to me and see that I wasn't intoxicated. We were laughing and joking around. I wasn't obnoxious or mean. Why is she listening to patrons conversations and interpreting them anyway. I know it's a public settting and she must have thought she heard something nefarious. I still can't imagine what that might have been. It is very loud in there and we weren't yelling at each other. I would not have someone working in my establishment, that is going to run off my long time patrons. This girl has no business working behind a bar or dealing with customers at all. I wonder how many people she has run off or how many times she has done this. I am a business owner myself and would hate to think that I have lost long time customers, because of what some ignorant little girl thought she heard while eavesdropping on patrons conversations. If she thought it was so bad, why didn't she talk to me about it or ask me to clarify. No, she decided for the owners, that they didn't need me as a customer any longer. Again, I would not have this individual working for me! Terrible...

The front room possesses a wonderful selection of micro brews, wine, and craft spirits at prices that are hard to beat. All items are at retail but can be enjoyed in house for a small corkage fee. The value and flexibility is hard to beat.

Accompanying the libations is a cadre of mixologists capable of whipping up whatever cocktail you're in need of. They offer Fernet Branca (try finding that somewhere else) and a rotating selection of craft beers on draft. They also offer a nice selection of locally sourced meat, cheese, and bread.

The back room, known as the Parlour, can be accessed through a sliding bookshelf or a nice inconspicuous side entrance complete with receptionist. One better call in advance and obtain a reservation. It fills up fast.

Where as the front is light, airy, and group oriented, the back is more dim and intimate. No retail here. But they make up for it with a full service bar and a host of mixologists and cocktail waitresses.

The drinks are top notch. I'll go so far as to say that they offer something you've never had before. The staff take their craft seriously, practicing and experimenting with new recipes and ingredients regularly. The end result is worth the toil.

Live music, namely jazz and blues, is offered regularly.

Edit: They have discontinued the drinking of bottles...

We went for Silent Disco Night - which has been fun at other places but was not at all fun here. For starters, the back bar was not set up for silent disco, there was no room for people to dance, so you were confined to your seat or a small area by the stage. The problem with the stage or bar area was the staff was always zipping around walking through the available areas people were trying to dance. So we had to stop dancing. It was a waste of money because the whole point is to dance and have fun with the crowd. Also, the bartender in the back (mustache, wearing a huge wig for a large portion of the night) was incredibly rude. I watched him actively ignore a LOT of folks at the bar. Most of which either went to the front bar or gave up entirely. Maybe y’all make enough money that losing out on paying customers isn’t a problem? He did have a group of his friends come in and he immediately served them and continued to actively engage with them for a while. He left the bar unattended for at least 5-10 minutes at a time several times. Maybe if we had room to dance, we wouldn’t have had time to observe the situation at the bar as much…but the drinks were not well made, and not inexpensive for poorly made drinks. It’s a shame because we had good service and tasty beverages before..guess times...