Happy Cork

On our list of the best wine bars in New York.

Sunshine Foss opened Happy Cork in 2019 after noticing how little of the wine and spirits business, an industry she calls still white and male-dominated, made room for Black-owned labels. One wall is dedicated entirely to them: McBride Sisters wine, Uncle Nearest whiskey, Stuyvesant Champagne, plus bottles carrying celebrity names like A$AP Rocky and John Legend. Upstairs, a tasting room styled like a small speakeasy (velvet seats, shag carpet, floral wallpaper) hosts regular tastings that walk customers through the bottles before they buy. Foss and her husband own the building, which sat vacant before she filled it with the shop. A small marketplace of goods from other local makers of color rounds out the space.