Lorie Dilley bought a Sandy winery awhile ago and is excited about bringing her Buddha Kat Winery to Seaside.

It just really appealed to me, a nice little town, Dilley said. I’ve had a house in Seaside for a few years now as a vacation home. I thought that would be a great location to open up another location for Buddha Kat.

Buddha Kat Winery, at 37 N. Edgewood St., opened in September in the former Beach Books location. Dilley hopes the downtown location will become a community hub, where friends can meet and have a glass of wine together.

That’s important, she said. I want to be involved in the community because that’s part of owning a business in town.

Ben Schlattmen, Buddha Kats manager, oversees the day-to-day operations at Buddha Kat, which boasts a spacious tasting room with a variety of wines, including fruit wines by Wasson Winery, the winery that Dilley bought and rechristened Buddha Kat.

Dilley, Schlattmen and winemaker Joshua Rude will keep the Wasson fruit wines available.

We are going to keep that alive, Schlattmen said. They have great recipes … They make a great fruit wine.

Rude will soon start bottling his own wines and Buddha Kat to add merlots, pinots and other varietals that take more time than the fruit wines.

Dilley also plans to offer guest wines from several wineries in the Sandy area.

The idea is to try and offer their wines on a rotating basis, and that way there’s at least a selection, she said. Some of these smaller wineries that we know, (it’s) an opportunity for them to sell.

Buddha Kat recently expanded its offerings to include beer, because, as Dilley said, not everybody likes to drink wine.

We’re going to try out some different breweries and see how that flies, Schlattmen said. Well have some frosted mugs and have some more options for people who aren’t wine drinkers.

Schlattmen also introduced some light appetizers, primarily focusing on platters of cheese, hard meats and crackers.  

Be it wine, beer, or appetizers, Schlattmen and Dilley hope to bring the people of Seaside together.

This is a really nice city, really laid back, Schlattmen said. I’ve never been in such a small town with so much foot traffic … I think it’s going to work out.