One of the partners behind Northwest Liquor & Wine, Eddie says the plan is to offer more than booze (Images: CHS)
Capitol Hill’s two stand alone liquor stores both got off to a rocky start following privatization in June, but at least one is now getting on its feet. While the Broadway and Harrison store is still dormant (more details below), Northwest Liquor & Wine at 12th and Pine is expanding to offer more alcohol, cigarettes, and food.
Owner Hardial Gill told CHS his first month of business was rough, but things are improving. Gill owns three stores, but said the 12th and Pine store is his priority.
“We are using (12th and Pine) as a model store, putting all our energy to see how things are going.”
That model envisions a liquor store with “corner store” offerings. Signs for cigarettes were already up this week. Gill is also making room for a row of coolers for beer and food items. The pint and mini liquor bottle selection has expanded in the post-1183 era, as have wines with a large Washington state selection. Mixers and sodas are also on their way.
The store is open everyday from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Right now, the most drunk for your buck still seems to be at the privatized state stores, as opposed to supermarkets. Part (all?) of that is due to many store owners getting sweet deals on the state’s unopened hooch. It’s likely prices will rise once store owners start replenishing more of their stock from distributors.
We asked an eager and knowledgeable clerk at Northwest Liquor & Wine to pull a few of this summer’s most popular spirits for a price check. Here were his picks and how they matched up to Broadway QFC:
|
Liquor |
12th and Pine |
QFC Broadway |
|
Tito’s Handmade Vodka (750 mL) |
$29.29 |
$35.35 |
|
Bulleit Bourbon (750 mL) |
$41.33 |
$43.18 |
|
Tanqueray (1 L) |
$45.65 |
$30.43 (750 mL) |
|
Patron Gold: (750 mL) |
$65.79 |
$73.9 |
(All prices include tax)
As for the Broadway and Harrison store, it’s still empty with no visible activity–a few pieces of furniture are tucked away in the back.
Shalbinder Cadri won the second round of bidding for the shop May 24 after James Hasty, the original winner, dropped out. Cadri picked up the store for $365,000, up from the initial $255,000 sale. But after only a few weeks Cadri also decided to renege on the deal.
“We made a business decision, and decided to back out,” he told CHS.
The store was auctioned off again June 28. This time it was Shawn Cooprider who placed the winning bid at a considerably lesser amount of $180,000.
Cooprider registered the business name Urban Spirits, LLC for the bid. If a deal can’t be worked out with the building’s landlord, Cooprider could move his license within a one mile radius.
CHS was unable the reach Cooprider for comment.
From the WSLCB on the June 28 round of bidding:
The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) successfully re-auctioned the rights to apply for a spirits retail liquor license at six state-run liquor stores statewide. The sum of individual bids totaled $600,000, with rights awarded to six successful bidders.
The WSLCB ran the auction to re-sell locations whose winners had failed, for whatever reason, to complete the purchase process. A $25 thousand bid deposit was required to participate in today’s auction, up from $10,000 at a previous live auction. Including today’s winners, the WSLCB has generated over $30.5 million dollars by auctioning off former state liquor stores.
Successful bidders earned the exclusive right to apply for a liquor license at the current location within its current footprint. All state store properties are below the 10,000 square foot threshold established by the initiative. Successful bidders will need to secure a lease with the property landlord. If they are unable to secure a lease, they may re-sell their right or request an alternative location within a one-mile radius of the existing location.
Store# Location Re-auction Price 042 Seattle-Broadway $180,000 082 Kent-Midway Crossing $125,000 085 Bellevue-Kelsey Crossroads $70,000 140 Bellingham $80,000 151 Ocean Shores $75,000 159 Kennewick-Columbia Summit $70,000
Pretty interesting how the bids for the stores on the second round were significantly lower…across the board?
I remember the good ol’ days (May) when we could get Bulleit for $25 on sale, and that was after taxes. Sheesh… $41 + 20% tax, that’s ~$50 — double the price!
Though I bet a handle of Popov is a couple bucks cheaper. Whoopee.
1183, what a disaster…
The prices listed include tax, but still quite a increase if you were getting it for $25.
What a let down. The selection is awful. The prices are higher and confused – some things are obviously priced way too high, some are bargains but quickly bought out. I get the feeling they have absolutely no idea what they are doing.
Here’s a short list of single malt scotches they should stock but do not:
Ardbeg Uigedail (duh), Arberlour A’bunadh (again duh), Glendronach 15 Revival, Jura Superstition, Mortlach 16, Benriach Curiositas, Longrow CV (Springbank), Old Pulteney 12, Glenfarclas 15, Springbank 15. They should also stock a couple Compass Box blend/vatted whiskies.
Umm…says who? How much of this product would tjey really sell? I’m not saying your wrong, but I’ve never seen a scientific survey of what product should be provided for our neighborhood. Maybe the first purveyor who does this will be the most successful.
Hint: I doubt it would be Kroger, Bartell’s or Safeway.
Got my Smirnoff, 750ml, at QFC for $10 today. State store was never that cheap.
Unless all you drink is industrial swill, the prices at the 12th and Pine store ( and most everywhere else) are completely outrageous. You’re better off buying online from CA.
Show me a online retailer in CA who will ship to WA, and that might work. Bevmo, for instance, specifically calls out in red items they cannot ship to WA.
Yow….if you are going through that much liquor that you find the need to buy it online from CA, I’m worried for you.
did you take a look at what you actually paid? If you actually paid $10 at qfc, then the shelf price would have had to have been about $2.50 prior to taxes.
The only thing going is for stores that now sell liquor have to negotiate lower prices with distributors and fight the state over the excise tax and bottle fee.
Unsurprisingly, there’s an iPhone app that calculates the tax on your bottles to avoid surprises.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wa-state-liquor-tax-calculato
The next version which will be released soon will let you comparison shop for cheaper bottles nearby.
You voted for it (I didn’t)….so you’re going to have to live with the higher prices.
The lack of variety (for people who don’t have ready access to driving to the new BevMos in Silverdale and Tacoma) is the real bummer. It’s now pretty easy to shop around and find decent prices on major corporate brands of gin, vodka, whiskey, rum etc. I can walk to QFC, Bartell, and Trader Joe’s to get that stuff cheaply–every store has a small section of the exact same brands. And QFC has plenty of dirt-cheap bottom-bottom shelf vodka for kids and winos.
But what about those odd liqueurs and euro-aperitifs to fill out the home cocktail cabinet? The WSLCB tended to have that stuff at a semi-expensive but reasonable price. Now it’s either a huge quest to track it down or pay what the 12th & Pine store charges.
Me and my friends been loyal customers to the 12th and pine store for years, and ive been in and out of this store serval times since the change over, and I’m very disappointed. I’m not sure what work ethics go into this place, some of the people are very friendly and helpful, while a few others are rude and clueless. There is a younger gentlemen who was very nice to ask if I needed help, when he wasn’t able to answer my question, he brought me to a very nice woman was able to point me to another similar product, which I did enjoyed very much. Another time I was in there I came across Eddie and had some questions and he didn’t seem to have a clue about anything and called over another employe. My last encounter with Eddie, he was talking on his phone the whole time I was in the store, even through checkout, which I found very rude and unprofessional. I also wanna mention the prices of things have gone up in the store a lot, starting to think QFC or Safeway are gonna be better options for prIces, one bottle I bought went up nearly ten dollars before tax price within days, was planning on buying another as a gift. Like I said I’m very disappointed with how thing are going in the store, I’d hate to shop at QFC or Safeway, but i just will have to start buying there. And i know if they don’t change things for the better, I see the store losing more customers.