When Aaron Crossland and his wife, Lauren Crossland-Marr, decided to open a South European-inspired wine bar in Oceanside, they didnt offer ideas or pictures to the architect they hired to create the interior design. Instead, they sent over a chapter from Patience Grays 1986 Italian cookbook and travelogue Honey from a Weed.

The chapter was about la merenda, the Italian phrase for a late afternoon snack shared al fresco or at a wine bar or restaurant with family or friends. The concept of la merenda became a saving grace for the couple in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to move back to the States from Italy and wait things out in St. Louis, Mo. There, they found community by gathering in a local park with a small group of friends for socially distanced conversations, snacks and drinks.

Lauren Crossland-Marr and Aaron Crossland have opened Merenda Wine Bar in South Oceanside. (Brennan Daniels)

Now theyve re-created that communal experience at Merenda Wine Bar in South Oceanside. The 71-seat space, which opened in mid-October, serves wines by the glass with an accompanying menu of snacks and small plates designed to accompany the 50 to 60 varieties of wine from established European winemakers with Old World roots. Theres also a retail bottle shop, where wines can be purchased for takeout or, for a $15 corkage fee, enjoyed in-house.

Crossland said his goal is to grow the wine collection to 90-plus labels and roll out a series of events, including a monthly winemaker aperitivo program, a wine dinner series with visiting European chefs and restaurant takeover parties.

The restaurants beverage director is Heidi Greenwood, who previously worked with Cucina Urbana and Herb & Wood, whos an expert in natural, low-intervention wines. The opening menu was designed by consultant Travis Hayden (formerly of Rustic Canyon in L.A.). It features imported meats and cheeses, house-made charcuterie items, a daily crudo special, trout rillettes, beef tartare, vegetable dishes and pasta. Executing the menu in-house is chef Xavier Delacruz, a native of Queens, New York.

A crudo dish and seasoned walnuts with a glass of Xarmant Txakoli wine from the Basque region of Spain at Merenda Wine Bar in South Oceanside. (Brook Larios)

Crossland said most of Merendas employees live in Oceanside, many of them within walking distance, and local artisans were hired to create some of the bars finishing touches. Encinitas artist Lindsey Marshall painted the interior murals and wine room. Dave Carr of Raging Cider & Mead Co. in San Marcos created the metalwork designs behind the bar, as well as the bars foot rail. A hand-painted tile mural above the bar, created by an artist in Portugal, features a whimsical re-creation of the St. Louis park where the la merenda gatherings were held in 2020.

Crossland spent most of his childhood in Oceanside but moved away in the late 1990s to attend business school in Washington, D.C. Thats where, in the early 2000s, he met his future wife, Lauren Marr, whos from Silver Springs, Md. Theyve been together since 2008 and are proud parents of 14-month-old daughter, Cecilia.

In 2014, the couple moved to St. Louis, where Crossland-Marr started a seven-year graduate program in food anthropology. Three years later, they relocated to Italy so she could do the field work for her thesis. Before their move abroad, Crossland had worked managing large government contracts in the civilian health care market. It was a lucrative career, but it wasnt his dream. So, during their time living in Milan and Catania, Sicily, he spent his free hours taking online cooking courses and visiting every region of Italy.

I hit 40 and realized, oh man, Im not doing anything I care about. I need to indulge my passion. Id always been passionate about cooking at home and having dinner parties and I loved the European lifestyle, he said. So I decided it was time to pursue my dream.

In 2021, they moved to his hometown of Oceanside. This year, they not only achieved their joint dream of opening Merenda, but Crossland-Marr also realized her dream to become a college professor. Shes now teaching cultural and food anthropology at the University of La Verne in the L.A. area.

Since Merenda opened, Crossland said business has far exceeded his expectations.

I want to say thanks to the neighborhood of South Oceanside. I cant say enough about how amazed I am by the communitys support. They came out for us and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

Merenda Wine Bar

Hours: 4-9 p.m. Thursdays-Mondays (hours will expand in December)

Address: 1931 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside

Online: merendawine.com