At 1693 Mission Drive, where Mission meets Alisal Road, the building that used to be Denmarket Square has a new name on it and a different kind of tenant inside. Visit Solvang's July 27 tenant guide lists nine businesses at Founder's Square. Most of them share one trait. Jewelry is made at the bench in the shop. Flowers are arranged that morning. The prints were drawn steps from where they hang, and a working studio fills the back of the stationery store. The wine bar pours mostly small-lot bottles from producers who have no tasting room of their own.
The square's anchor also keeps the latest hours of any business there, which carries that maker-run character into the evening.
Who makes what, door by door
The square's businesses fall into three groups. Some make things on site. Some pour or serve the work of valley producers. A couple keep the corner busy through the day.
Made in the shop
- Andrea's Heart. Handcrafted, one-of-a-kind jewelry made in the shop by Andrea herself, who also takes custom pieces and repairs.
- Natalie Groves Gallery. Original illustration and fine art prints in a small studio, from an artist whose work, in Visit Solvang's words, "was made steps from where you are standing."
- The Giving Ink. A stationery shop, working art studio and gallery in one, where the work happens while customers browse.
- Meadow Studio Flowers. A floral design studio and home garden shop that makes every arrangement with fresh wildflowers each morning.
- SYV Creamery. Described as part ice cream lab, part small-batch flavor experiment, with rotating creations.
Poured or served from the valley
- Rooted Vine Cellars. A small-production Santa Barbara County winery pouring in its first tasting room.
- Analogue Room. A vinyl lounge and wine and beer bar with a pizza kitchen, covered in detail below.
Keeping the corner busy
- CHOMP. Burgers, fries, shakes, banana splits, veggie options and melts. Visit Solvang says the line out front "moves faster than it looks."
- Coffee House by Chomp. Pitched as a quiet place to work or read.
By that count, seven of the nine businesses either make what they sell on the premises or give small valley producers a counter.
Analogue Room is the clearest case
The square's anchor follows the same logic as its neighbors. Noozhawk's August 30 profile traces it to John Wright, a former preservation architect who once turned old East Coast barns into homes and later founded Standing Sun Wines in Buellton. In that August 30 article, Noozhawk reports that the previous tenants vacated the space "last August." After closing The Hideaway Lounge in Los Olivos, Wright put the following year into the new room. According to the same article, he designed and built every detail himself, from the backlit bar to the furniture. The Santa Barbara Independent reported on August 18 that the venue had opened about a month earlier.
The menu, the wine list and the records all come from nearby:
| What's served | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Wine by the glass or bottle | Mostly small-lot wines from winemakers without tasting rooms, plus some names like Brander and Dragonette |
| Pizza | Side Hustle Pizza by Joe Blanchard, made on focaccia dough from Amy Dixon of The Baker's Table |
| Salads and seasonal pizzas | Farmers market ingredients, including Finley Farms produce |
| Beer | Mostly small, family-owned labels, with Coors also on hand |
| Records | A growing collection, added to by guests who bring in records or donate whole collections |
"The goal is simple food," Wright told Noozhawk. Wright and his team hope to add pairing nights that match pizzas with wines. Both staff members Noozhawk names are Santa Ynez Valley natives. General manager Blake Economus, who came from Gainey Vineyard, runs the bar, and Blanchard runs the kitchen.
The music is vinyl only, played through a custom high-fidelity system by a rotating lineup of DJs and guest selectors. Genres run from soul, jazz and funk to hip-hop, house and world music. Wright told Noozhawk that rotating the DJs led each one to do more full "play-throughs" of albums. He also said some guests leave records behind, and others donate entire collections. The room seats 62, indoors and out, with bar-style seats along windows on both sides.
The wine bar for producers without a room
Rooted Vine Cellars shows the same pattern from the producer's side. The Santa Barbara Independent reported in January that proprietor Iaon Pohlit launched the label in 2021 and opened his Solvang tasting room the previous December, his first. Visit Solvang describes the room as small production with limited releases, where customers talk directly with the people who make the wine.
Put the two businesses side by side and the square serves small producers twice. Rooted Vine pours its own releases across a counter it now operates, and smaller labels still without a room reach drinkers through Analogue Room's list, which Noozhawk says leans mostly on winemakers without tasting rooms.
The hours that set this corner apart
According to Visit Solvang, Analogue Room keeps the latest hours at Founder's Square, which makes the square an evening stop as well as a daytime one. The schedule has changed since summer. The July visitor guide listed Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. The bar's own events page now lists different hours:
- Thursday through Saturday: 4 to 10 p.m.
- Sunday and Monday: 4 to 8 p.m.
- Tuesday and Wednesday: closed
The schedule that matters most to residents is Monday. The events page lists a weekly Industry and Locals Night every Monday from 4 to 8 p.m., with discounts for local residents and for people who work in hospitality, wine and restaurants.
A few practical details, according to Noozhawk and Visit Solvang:
- A free parking lot sits behind the Founder's Square complex.
- The square is a short walk from Copenhagen Drive and Solvang Park.
- Hours vary by business, so check with each shop before making a special trip.
- Analogue Room's events page lists DJ nights through October 11, 2026, and for private events or upcoming DJ dates, Noozhawk points readers to analogueroom.com and @analogueroomsyv.
Wright's other project has a date coming up. With Analogue Room running, Noozhawk reports, he is relaunching the concert series at Standing Sun Winery, 92 Second St. in Buellton, starting with singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins on October 21.
When the makers move to the park
On December Wednesdays, the maker-first idea spreads beyond the square. Visit Solvang's Julefest page runs the season from November 27, 2026, through January 3, 2027. It schedules a Maker's Market in Solvang Park on December 2, 9, 16 and 23, from 3 to 7 p.m., alongside the Solvang Farmers Market. Analogue Room is closed on Wednesdays, and on those four afternoons the handmade-goods market sits in Solvang Park, a short walk from the square.
The same page puts the tree lighting at Solvang Park, 1630 Mission Drive, on Friday, December 4, at 5:30 p.m. The parade follows on Saturday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with the theme "Nisser & Nordic Night." The page also lists a Copenhagen Countdown in the park on December 31 from 2 to 4 p.m. Some of the page's year labels are inconsistent, so confirm the details with organizers before blocking out the calendar.
Founder's Square is one corner of Solvang where the businesses are run by the people doing the making and pouring. For residents of Solvang and the wider Santa Ynez Valley, Laura Drammer follows these block-by-block changes downtown as closely as any property detail. If you'd like to talk through how places like Founder's Square figure into your plans in the valley, please request a confidential consultation.
