Nicole Peltier’s roaming wine bar, Nico’s Small Market, has moved out of its three-wheeled Piaggio Ape rickshaw and into a new two-story storefront in Atwater Village. On the main level find Nico’s with a selection of mostly natural wine, and below on the cellar level, wine bar Baby Battista.

Peltier’s start in wine wasn’t exactly traditional. While working in supply chain operations she realized that most people drinking wine had no idea where their bottles were coming from. The realization spurred her to start learning the stories of the farmers behind the wines that she was drinking.

While exploring wines, Peltier became enraptured with the idea that a certain vintage freezes time in a way. “Each vintage, each bottle is like a little time capsule,” she says. “You could probably buy the wine again next year, but it’ll be the next vintage and nothing about it will really be the same.”

At Nico’s, Peltier focuses on offering low-intervention wines by the bottle and glass. Upstairs in the shop, bottles will start at around $15 to $18, with more expensive options like Champagne. Regions around the world will be well-represented with domestic wines from Oregon and the California coast, as well as options from France, Australia, Slovenia, and more.

Nico’s.

A similar sourcing ethos applies to Baby Battista as well, which welcomes guests to buy bottles from the upstairs shop and drink them downstairs with a corkage fee of $20. There is a regular offering of 12 rotating wines available by the glass, plus a weekly wine flight. In addition to the wine, Peltier serves meat and cheese plates that she used to dole out of the side of her colorful Italian mini-truck. At the bar, a build-your-own snack plate offers accouterments of Marcona almonds, cornichons, and bread from Bub and Grandma’s.

The choice of Atwater Village for her first store was intentional for Peltier. “There’s this crazy sense of community [in Atwater],” she says. “Everyone that walks in here is like, ‘I live behind this street’ or ‘I live on this street,’ and we love to support businesses on this block.” As part of the bar, Nico’s Wines also operates a venue that hosts DJ nights, comedy, and more. “I really just want it to be a neighborhood spot where people can always come and always feel welcome,” Peltier says.

Nico and Baby Battista’s first day open was January 23, 2024, after a brief three-week renovation to the former Oeno Wine Bar space. But before the shop officially opened, Peltier spent seven months hunting for secondhand furniture on Facebook and at estate sales. The design downstairs falls between midcentury and ’80s Art Deco, with a wide leather couch and chrome lighting fixtures. Upstairs, the bottle shop is mostly minimal with a splash of hot pink from a table in the center of the room.

Nico’s and Baby Battista are just the most recent additions to the rapidly growing number of restaurants and bars in Atwater Village. Across the street, Blossom flipped into Italian restaurant Spina in November, and Holy Basil just opened its second location in the Atwater Canyon development after a two-year buildout. The stretch of Glendale Boulevard could develop into one of LA’s top dining neighborhoods.

Nico’s and Baby Battista are located at 3111 Glendale Boulevard #2, Los Angeles, CA 90039. Nico’s is open Sunday to Tuesday from 12 p.m to 11 p.m. and Wednesday to Saturday from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. Baby Battista is open Sunday to Tuesday from 5 p.m to 11 p.m. and Wednesday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.