When Ashley Kofoed first arrived in West Branch with her fiancé, it was to meet her future in-laws for dinner at the local Brick Arch Winery. Dining with her family within the spacious building — which features two stories, three gas fireplaces, elegant wood finishes, a stage, a dance floor, a kitchen and over 5,300 sq. ft. — Kofoed was struck by a vision.
“I felt a connection here then,” Kofoed said as we toured the former winery/wedding venue, which closed after the pandemic in 2020. “When I saw this space was up for sale, I knew this was it.”
“It” would be the future site of The Black Rose, a bar-slash-bookstore serving up literature and libations beginning Friday, June 13…