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Liquor store/strip plaza

Wolfgang5150

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Does anyone here have experience owning a liquor store, with a small strip plaza? I am looking at one later today (owner retiring); nice little plaza. Financials look good - decent area with a lot of traffic. Any horror/success stories in regards to owing a liquor store? To me it's a recession proof business. I own apartment buildings and houses, not commercial.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Kevin S.
Orchard Park,NY
 
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andviv

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do you want to buy the strip mall or run the liquor store?
 
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Wolfgang5150

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I want to buy both. The owner is selling each entity. I don't plan on sitting behind the counter at the liquor store. I'm not sure of the rents of the other tenants, but I will learn more of those later today.
 

Jason_MI

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I looked into buying one earlier this year, with some partners who already own two others. Sin sells, that's all there is to it. The big deal here is insurance, and as mentioned, employee issues. A good store manager can take a failing store and turn it into a winner, but bad management can sink 'em real, real fast. Of course, the same can be said for lots of businesses.
 

Tara430

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you are better off buying both and having somebody else rent the liquor store from you. I would think there will be less headaches that way and you still make your money. Where is the strip located?
 

andviv

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Tara, that is great advice!!!
 

MJ DeMarco

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There is a guy here "MrDoctor" who I think is involved in BevMo, a private company that has boatloads of liquor stores on the west coast. The difference is, they are creating a recognizable brand that is atypical of liquor stories -- wide isles, bright lighting, heavy wine inventory and then replicating the stores.

They are doing everything right insofar as creating a brand, a system that can be replicated, and most importantly, providing quantity selection at a good price. <<<--- FASTLANE.

There is one in my neighborhood and it is always crowded and attracts a diverse clientèle, from the wine snobs to the guys looking to buy a kegger.

I give them 2-3 years before some large conglomerate buys them for $450 million or some outrageous sum of money.

Its a business I would have love to be invested in ... but MrDoctor didn't offer. :icon_fU:
 
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Peter2

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I give them 2-3 years before some large conglomerate buys them for $450 million or some outrageous sum of money.

Tower Brook Capital Partners bought Bevmo a few months ago.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Private Equity Firm? How much?
 

Peter2

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MrDoctor

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There is a guy here "MrDoctor" who I think is involved in BevMo, a private company that has boatloads of liquor stores on the west coast. The difference is, they are creating a recognizable brand that is atypical of liquor stories -- wide isles, bright lighting, heavy wine inventory and then replicating the stores.

They are doing everything right insofar as creating a brand, a system that can be replicated, and most importantly, providing quantity selection at a good price. <<<--- FASTLANE.

There is one in my neighborhood and it is always crowded and attracts a diverse clientèle, from the wine snobs to the guys looking to buy a kegger.

I give them 2-3 years before some large conglomerate buys them for $450 million or some outrageous sum of money.

Its a business I would have love to be invested in ... but MrDoctor didn't offer. :icon_fU:


Ah, I didn't know you were interested :blush:. I'm sure I'll get another opportunity for 2008, I'll be sure to let you know. I got options at $1.00 per. They might be slightly highier this next time around.



Bevmo is the major player in the game, but they are still prone to robbery. They are a "cleaner" store which attracts more of the "serious" consumer, not your local "trash." Location is KEY. They are very clean stores, they carry "normal" hours, and they are located in nice areas. They are expanding at a high rate. I belive they are now expanding into the east coast :cheers:.
 

Bilgefisher

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Wolfgang I am very interested in your progress on this. My business partner and I are looking at purchasing a liquor store as soon as we build up enough liquid assets to ride out the first few months of ownership.
 

TNT

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You may want to check out the suppliers. The liquer licencse also?
 

Wolfgang5150

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Thanks for the responses everyone. I have been on vacation and on 'internet rehab' for almost two weeks now; sorry I haven't responded. The numbers look good - the bank agrees as well. I am going to meet with the owner further this week. I will be able to share more details as we move forward.
KS
 
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Wolfgang5150

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After reviewing this further, I am leaning towards not pulling the trigger on this. The simple reason is that the store will require too much hands-on work (minimum wage employees, theft, lots of cash/inventory to keep an eye on every day). I think I am going to continue to focus on apartment buildings.
Thanks for the responses.
Kevin s.
Orchard Park, NY
 

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