Blog New Writing Piece...About A Place

I chose to write about the liquor store where I work. I worked hard on this one, and that's why I'm sharing. This is just a first draft, so suggestions are welcomed!

**Note, I omitted the location for obvious reasons.

“Can I help you find something?” I ask a browsing customer, who seems aimlessly lost skimming through the shelves of liquor, wine, and beer.

“Not really. I just can't decide what I want,” answers the middle aged women staring blankly at a bottle of top shelf vodka, usually with cell phone in hand, ready to call a friend for a suggestion. Smiling, I nod at the customer; I hear this statement multiple times a day. The drink choices at Val-U Liquors, the liquor store where I work off *********, tend to overwhelm your average customer, but, luckily, I am here to help, and turn a shopping experience into an adventure.

Divided into three sections, the liquor store separates wine, liquor, and beer, making shopping for one particular variety easier for the customer. Wine shelves line the right interior wall with a long wooden gondola shelf sitting diagonal in between the countless wine displays. Wine displays contain special deals and overstock used to replace purchased bottles taken from the shelves. Three double rows of liquor shelves rest on the right side of the store, separated into vodkas, gins, whiskeys, liquers, rums, tequilas, pre-mixed concoctions, and mixers, the items used to make the perfect drink. Beer coolers fence in the back of the store, housing domestic, import, and interesting craft and microbrews, which may be hard to find in the area. Hot versions of these beers face the coolers, either sitting on the floor in stacks or lining shelving units.

Navigating the beer section usually poses the least trouble for browsing customers. Generally, those individuals purchasing beer know what they need and where to find the products. In the liquor business, employees call those customers regulars. Regulars buy the same merchandise each time they stop into the store. Most of the time the selection includes Busch Light or Bud Light in some variety in various sized packaging. Unique to other liquor stores, Val-U Liquors provides an outlet to customers wishing to experiment and taste an array of IPAs, lagers, or stouts by making their own six-pack variety of twelve ounce bottled beers. Customers select from brands like Dogfish Head, Left Hand Brewery, Bluegrass Brewing Company, and Schlafly's in order to quench their own unique thirsts.

In the liquor section, rows of bottles line the selves, but organizing the bottles by type and brand helps prevent complete chaos for the shopper. For example, vodka organization places top-shelf brands, those of a higher caliber, at eye-level to the customer, giving more prestige to Grey Goose and Three Olives. Bottom shelf varieties require the patron to stoop down to snatch up that bottle of Popov or Burnetts. Regular liquor buyers covet items like Kentucky Tavern, Jose Cuervo, Glemore Vodka, and Very Old Barton. Clear liquors, vodka and gin, group together, while rum and tequila share shelf space. Whiskey and bourbon, due to the popularity of those products in Kentucky, receive the honor of having a shelf alone. Customers need to remember the following when liquor shopping: you don't need to purchase the best or most expensive liquor to make a mixed drink; top-shelf varieties require no mixer due to the overall smoothness and stature of the libation.

Making sense of the wine section, however, poses the most difficulties for the liquor store consumer. First of all, Val-U Liquors organizes the wine shelves by brand and then by the country in which the wine is produced, making a question like, “Where are all of your merlots?” a difficult one for employees to answer. I usually ask a guest the brand name of the wine, and then direct them to the appropriate section, all while explaining the set-up of the wine shelves. Again, like the liquor shelves, more recognized brand names, like Kendall Jackson, Simi, Rodney Strong, and Mark West, hold positions on the top shelves at the customer's eye-level, making these brands prominent and helpful to an unexperienced wine purchaser. Cheaper alternatives to wine, like Arbor Mist and Wild Vines, hold places on the bottom shelves. Boxed and jug wines, along with champagnes and sparkling wines, fill shelves closer to the front window and towards the back of the store. The most coveted and expensive brands of wine, including Silver Oak and Cake Bread, receive the honor of being placed on the prestigious gondola shelving unit, promoting the high quality of the wine. A knowledgeable employee helps the novice wine shopper choose a bottle of wine that best fits the individual by asking questions like, “Would you like a dry or sweet wine?”, “Would you prefer white or red wine?”, and “What price would you like to spend?” I always welcome questions from customers new to wine shopping because I'd hate for them to take a sip of a dry merlot, hate it, and then be soured on wine forever.

Shopping at Val-U Liquors, or any liquor store for that matter, doesn't have to be overwhelming. With the help of friendly eager employees, which occupy Val-U Liquors, and knowing the establishment, choosing an adult beverage becomes an adventure into unknown territories. Think of shopping for the next glorious masterpiece when choosing a new thirst-quencher the next time you find yourself drowning in a sea of bottles and cans, and, above all, enjoy the inebriating after effects from delighting in too much of your selection, if you so desire.