When Vanessa Murphy and her business partner, Jaime Vela walked into Unwind, they immediately saw their future vision come to life and they knew they had to have it! They took over and bought the space in June 2020 from the original owners who were forced to sell as a result of the Covid shutdown.

“We kept the bones of the old place, from the name Unwind to the unique industrialized/wooden interior, but have made many modifications, such as creating an outdoor dining patio, adding an eloquently mesmerizing flower wall, and installing more multi-screen televisions. Additionally, we entirely revamped the menu from French/American to eclectic tapas with a Spanish flare. On top of that, our chef is very talented. He is Cuban and has trained with Le Cordon Bleu, and has worked at numerous Michelin-star restaurants. He had no holds barred with the food, and was able to create a menu from scratch. My business partner also includes authentic Vietnemese dishes on Thursdays and Saturdays. We have been gifted the nickname “hidden gem” a plethora of times due to the nature of Unwind being tucked away in a shopping center off of Ventura boulevard, with most people never knowing we existed until they walk through our doors. But once they do, their return is imminent!” Vanessa shares about the beginnings of their joint venture.

Vanessa is a model as well as the General Manager of Unwind while Jaime is an established entrepreneur, as the owner of 10-Deuce Clothing, as well as an investor in Rocco’s WeHo. Unwind opened in October 2020 but closed down again in December 2020 as the Covid surge started to rise again. They re-opened in Februrary 2021 and have been open since despite being faced with multiple challenges: from scarcity of products to limited workforce availability, and other unforeseeable challenges from this pandemic.

Unwind is a wine sports bar on Ventura Blvd., a unique concept mixing the elements of upscale yet casual, and masculine and feminine. It’s a fun space to meet with friends or go on a date night or have some quite time after a long day at work.

Community support for their restaurant has been overwhelming to say the least.

“Our community is amazing! We cannot thank the surrounding community enough for all of the love and support they have given us. Because what is a restaurant without its community? Our community helps define us. Everything about the local communities is present in our wine bar: the eclectic and international menu showcases the multicultural aspect of our population, the casual elegance of our atmosphere defines the down-to-earth-ness of our customers, and the aesthetics presented in our industrial architecture and naturesque design depicts the beauty around us. We have no one to thank other than our local support.”

Unwind is located on Ventura Blvd. and Donna Ave, in the same shopping center as iHop. Come and stop by this one-of-a-kind restaurant and, well…unwind! Not only do they offer a wide selection of carefully curated wines and amazing food, but live music is as well. Happy hour is from 4pm – 6pm Tuesday through Friday. Follow them on Instagram @unwindrestaurant for more information.

Location: 19100 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, CA 91356

Hours of Operation: Monday: CLOSED; Tuesday-Thursday 4pm – 10pm; Friday-Saturday 4pm – 11pm; Sunday 4pm-9pm