CANNON BEACH – The sign above the bar at Lush Wine Bar says, “Drink.” But there’s more to do than sip wine at the cozy establishment in midtown Cannon Beach.

Well, yes, there is the wine to sample: many varieties of reds and whites, as well as a few “bubblies” and dessert wines. Eighty-five percent of the wines come from the Northwest.

But beer drinkers and those who don’t drink alcohol also have a few choices to make.

Then, there are appetizers, which range from gazpacho to flatbreads spread with blue cheese, pine nuts, caramelized onions and currants.

For those who want a light supper, Lush provides plates of truffle mac and cheese, lemon chicken kebabs with Moroccan herb sauce and other tongue tantalizers.

If that weren’t enough, dessert is also available. How about a chocolate caramel tart with chocolate ganache?

Even the seating offers options: Customers can sit at the bar, at one of the tables, on a couch or hang out on the patio.

“We wanted it to feel like you were coming over to our home to have a glass of wine,” said Tracy Abel, who with her husband, Todd Rowley, opened the bar July 6.

The bar’s name, “Lush,” is wine industry term meaning wines that are “rich, velvety, sweet and fruity,” said Abel.

“It’s exceedingly drinkable, synonymous with ‘luscious,'” she added.

But, she admitted, customers have heard the word used in another connotation, as in “someone who drinks a lot and flirts.” Abel said she had never heard that term before. “It’s sort of generational,” she added.

Abel said she and Rowley have always enjoyed drinking and talking about wines.

“When we dated, we went to the wine country. On my birthday or our anniversary, we went to the wine country. Living here, I always wished there was a wine bar. We have several great restaurants, but nothing that had the environment that a wine bar gives.”

Abel, who also operates an event-planning business and Rowley, who is a contractor, wanted a place where friends could get together at the end of the day for a glass of wine and casual conversation. They also wanted a place easy to reach by walking or riding a bicycle.

When a former burrito restaurant closed, they decided to lease the spot. The mall at 1235 S. Hemlock St., across from the American Legion Building, is quickly becoming a hot spot, with the new Cannon Beach Hardware and Public House and The Irish Table, which also opened recently. Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters and the Found store also inhabit the mall.

Rowley built the bar, shelving and countertops. Abel collected furniture from local garage sales and discovered old chandeliers from vintage stores. Customers tell her the eclectically decorated establishment is warm and inviting, Abel said.

So far, she added, business has been good. Local hotel and restaurant operators are recommending that their customers spend time there. “Being tucked back in a corner here, we’re not highly visible,” she said. “We’ve been blessed with all of their support.”