New Velvet Den wine lounge offers Cashmere a place to linger

CASHMERE — The music was already doing most of the work.

Upon entry into The Velvet Den, Sinatra’s voice filled the room with “The Lady is a Tramp,” giving way a moment later to Sarah Vaughan, and then to an instrumental track from Oscar Peterson. The playlist set the tone immediately: Something jazzy, unhurried, and a little removed from the ordinary rhythms of Side Street.

Tucked inside HoneyHour Market, The Velvet Den is a small, intimate wine lounge that quietly opened as an evening counterpart to the daytime market. The space is designed as an adults-only room, separate from the main shop, where customers can sit, talk, and linger a while.

Grace, who was working at the front of the space that afternoon, explained how the lounge fits into the larger operation. While HoneyHour continues to serve customers during the day, The Velvet Den opens in the late afternoon and evening on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, offering the same food options in a quieter, more contained setting, with no minors allowed.

But spaces like this don’t really come to life because of their rules or their hours. They come to life because of the people who decide to use them.

On this particular afternoon, that role was being filled by three friends — Diane Senn, Lynn Love, and Tauni Hink — all retired schoolteachers, all longtime companions, and all clearly enjoying the unspoken agreement that this was a place to sit and stay a while.

They talked easily, laughed often, and waved off the idea that this was anything unusual. According to Love, they make a point of getting together regularly. “We go out at least once a week,” she said, settling back onto the velvet loveseat as the conversation continued.

They had come in, ordered wine, and done what friends who have known each other a long time tend to do: Pick up old threads, start new ones, and let the room hold the noise of it.

At one point, they asked for help taking a photo together.

What followed was a brief, cheerful debate about how the picture should look. The ladies posed and repositioned themselves, exchanging tips on presentation — “You should be smiling” and “Let’s look animated!” — before breaking into laughter and trying again.

It was the kind of moment that doesn’t announce itself as important, but quietly explains everything.

The Velvet Den itself is styled more like a living room than a bar, with soft seating, low light, and music playing on vinyl most days. It’s not a place built for rushing through, and on this afternoon, no one seemed in any hurry to leave.

Love, who lives in Wenatchee, said the feel of Cashmere is different. “It just feels different here,” she said, gesturing around the room.

That difference is something Side Street has been steadily leaning into over the past year, as new businesses and small gathering spaces have begun to give the downtown-adjacent area more reasons to linger past the end of the workday.

The Velvet Den’s hours are currently posted as 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, while HoneyHour Market remains open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Owners have indicated the schedule may evolve over time, depending on how the space is used.

But on this afternoon, none of that felt especially pressing.

Three friends sat at a table, another song played, another round of laughter went up, and the room did exactly what it was supposed to do.

A space, after all, isn’t really a place yet when it opens its doors.

It becomes one when people start using it like this.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media