There's a guitar hanging on the wall at Grapevine Grille. There's another one up near the ceiling. And if you look closely, the wall behind the counter is practically a record collection — albums stacked and displayed like a menu, because that's exactly what they are. Every sandwich, every wrap, every bowl is named after a song, an artist, or an album. That's not a gimmick. It's the whole vibe.

The owner, Charlene Potter, told me her brother is a musician. When they moved into their current space, she called him and told him she needed his albums. "I know you have these albums," she said. "Start looking."

Twenty Years in the Making

Charlene has been in business for twenty years — sixteen of them at the current location on Route 7, where Grapevine Grille shares a building with Drop In Brewing. It started differently, though. Back at a spot down the road known as the Little Red Schoolhouse, Charlene and her then-business partner Nancy ran a large wine store with a small kitchen attached.

"We had a big wine store — that's where the grapevine came from," she told me. As the kitchen grew, the music connection followed naturally: "We just started making up names and laughing and drinking wine and listening to music."

When Drop In Brewing invited them to join their new location, the food expanded. Nancy, originally from Maryland, brought a deep knowledge of cheesesteaks to the operation. They added a flat top, sourced Amoroso rolls straight from Philadelphia — "it's tradition in Philly," Charlene said — and started roasting their own meat in-house.

When COVID hit, Nancy took it as the right moment to retire. Charlene kept it going solo. Grapevine Grille turns twenty in May.

What We Ate

We visited on a sunny afternoon with the kids, and the whole thing was easy from the jump. My five-year-old Arum asked for a BLT — it wasn't on the menu, but the woman behind the counter told him right away she could make him one. It came on white toast with a thick slice of tomato and bacon that was perfectly done, not too crispy but well cooked all the way through. He was happy.

I ordered a cheesesteak and asked if I could add bacon. Same answer: of course. Jasmine got a cheesesteak too, and before we'd even spoken with Charlene and learned the whole Amoroso roll story, Jasmine had already pointed out how perfect the texture was — super soft, light, hitting the spot exactly right. That roll is doing real work.

We grabbed pints from Drop In Brewing, which shares the building and the outdoor seating area, and ate outside at the picnic tables in the sun. That's the move.

Don't sleep on the soft pretzel with cheese sauce either — it tastes like pure melted cheddar because it nearly is. Charlene makes it with heavy cream and cheddar, nothing else. No stabilizers, no shortcuts.

Find It

Grapevine Grille is at 610 Route 7 South, across from G Stone Motors, sharing a lot with Drop In Brewing. Open Tuesday through Saturday, lunch hours only (extended to 5pm on Fridays and Saturdays). Closed Sunday and Monday.

Phone: (802) 382-8646
Instagram: @grapevinegrille
Web: grapevinegrillevermont.com