D’Onna Stubblefield Creates Safe Space Among Wine Bars in Philly at Bloomsday

Attention wine lovers, enthusiasts, and naturalists, there exists an electrifying and soul-stirring eatery that adds to the growing restaurant scene and wine bars in Philly called Bloomsday .

The female-led restaurant, wine bar and bottle shop in Philadelphia’s Head House Square opened in 2019 and offers a menu with seasonal ingredients and an innovative cocktail program.

In addition, its wine program has garnered accolades such as “Best Wine Bar” by Philadelphia magazine and one of the region’s “Best Wine Clubs” by Philadelphia Style Magazine is led by coffee industry veteran turned Bloomsday beverage director and educator D’Onna Stubblefield.

Stubblefield’s prior experience and knack for hospitality transferred to her role adds to Bloomsday’s success as one of the top wine bars in Philly.

The Coffee-Wine Connection

In addition to a robust menu, Bloomsday set out to cater to the community differently than other wine bars in Philly by providing customers with a specific elevated wine selection through their wine program.

Stubblefield, who started out as a barista in 2019 and worked her way up with a lead promotion last year, explains, “We source from all over the world, but we are also very passionate about sourcing close to home.”

“The wine program here focuses on sustainable practices. Small production, low intervention wines. What that means is the program focuses on small producers, farmers, or essentially partners like you and me selling a product. Low intervention means that there is little to nothing added or taken away from the wine.”

According to Stubblefield, Bloomsday carries wines that mimic processes before the Industrial Revolution. This is what they consider natural wine, and their wine carriers typically pick grapes, crush them, and then allow for the natural fermentation process to take place without any or a very low amount of additives such as sulfate.

The original concept for this hub, which differs from other wine bars in Philly, is the motivation and drive of co-owner Zach Morris. “He has a really long history of wine in Philly. He used to be a wine buyer and importer. He taught about wine for years and he really wanted to bring a nice wine bar to Philadelphia,” Stubblefield says.

Having a keen instinct, Stubblefield brought her extensive past experiences and education to this role. When she started as a barista, she understood the science behind coffee and the variations in how it was produced.

Prior to this, she had a career in specialty coffee as a buyer and trainer. This is where she sharpened her skills in learning to teach, manage, and build a community.

At Bloomsday, she became more attracted to this libation and was able to transfer her knack for coffee to wine, understanding the importance of detail, including the way it should look, feel, taste and smell.

“At first, I was an enthusiast, being able to taste quality. I thought wine was cool because it has something that coffee doesn’t have. It has a ton of written history. Coffee doesn’t have a written history because it is a highly colonized item,” Stubblefield explains, who credits Bloomsday owners for encouraging her to fully embrace the stratosphere of wine and to pursue a career in it,” says the Pittsburgh native.

“Kelsey (Bush) and Zach really saw a talent, and I credit Zach with encouraging me to make this a career, and I didn’t know this world existed for me.”

Stubblefield adds, “I got a scholarship to study wine through a program called Wine Empower and that was a real game changer for me because it taught me how to study wine, every bottle of wine, every margin, every liquor, every beer. This was my blueprint, and I got to try out all of these ideas that I had about collaboration and about managing a staff.”

RELATED: YOWIE: A Design Destination Brand in Philadelphia’s South Street Community

Creating Safe Space to Learn Among Wine Bars in Philly

Sharing more about Bloomsday, Stubblefield adds, “For the beverage program, we find small importers anywhere from France to New Mexico. So, we work with importers and distributors to locate products from regions that are really familiar, and I love buying things from regions that aren’t so familiar.”

Some of the more popular styles of wines at the restaurant are the textural white wines and low canon red wines, which include rosé and sparkling wine. “I focus the most on styles because that allows me to introduce people to producers that they wouldn’t necessarily know a lot about.”

Stubblefield has found a home at Bloomsday, a location different from other wine bars in Philly. Other services include a book and wine club, wine dinners, and cocktail classes Stubblefield directs and teaches.

“A lot of what I bring to my wine career is listening to people.” Stubblefield is determined and tenacious. Her infectious demeanor, along with her personal mission to provide a safe place to educate is a notable aspect of Philadelphia, Bloomsday, and this Penn’s Landing community.

Be sure to learn more about Stubblefield by visiting Bloomsday online and on Instagram .

This story originally appeared in Cuisine Noir Magazine