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so i want to open a liquor store, in Texas.

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JulesMaximus said:
Can't you just buy liquor at Costco or the supermarket like you can here?
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Costco, yes - but getting a liquor license in TX is hard.

All your profit will come from beer/wine sales due to mass. Liquor sales are a lot lower, unless someone is buying a lot and that tends to be low-end/low-profit liquors. A liquor store won't be able to compete with most grocery stores or corner stores in terms of cost/convenience.

Especially in Texas, where Specs is spreading like wildfire.
 
JulesMaximus said:
Can't you just buy liquor at Costco or the supermarket like you can here?
Click to expand...

In general, no. There's several silly liquor laws on the books here basically supermarkets will sell beer, beer and wine or nothing at all. Many cities have their own liquor laws as well; wet, damp (beer/wine), beer only or dry.

Arlington allowed wine sales a few years back and just now is allowing a few liquor stores. Even then I read it's like 4 stores in the whole city and they aren't spread out by any means.

IIRC Sam's gets away with it because it's a private club. Even in towns that are dry you can sell liquor if it's a "club", so some places won't sell you anything until you join the club (typically free, this is just a way around the law).
 
Liquor laws vary so much from state to state that it's difficult for most people, who know only the the local lay of the land, to give solid advice on how to do things, or what's possible there.

Some states limit the number of liquor licenses of various types. If you want to open a store, then you have to either buy a store or buy their liquor license. In other states, you just apply for a new license. If, in Texas, you're competing against beer and wine sales in grocery stores and convenience stores, then that has to be a major consideration. Then, as has been pointed out, all it takes is for that mega-chain warehouse liquor store to move into town and they'll put many of the smaller stores out of business overnight.
 
Start with here: https://www.tabc.state.tx.us/

And whatever your town's/County's Planning Department. Check your local zoning for this property and make sure you aren't within whatever distance from schools your state ABC allows.

I just processed a Dollar General ABC license in a small town within our county. The town already had seven off-site beer & wine licenses per that census tract (the way CA ABC does it, not sure of your state) but their limit was only 5, so I needed to make findings as to why we want Dollar General to have a license. The form we have here is called a PCN (Public Convenience and Necessity).
 
Phoenix86 said:
In general, no. There's several silly liquor laws on the books here basically supermarkets will sell beer, beer and wine or nothing at all. Many cities have their own liquor laws as well; wet, damp (beer/wine), beer only or dry.

Arlington allowed wine sales a few years back and just now is allowing a few liquor stores. Even then I read it's like 4 stores in the whole city and they aren't spread out by any means.

IIRC Sam's gets away with it because it's a private club. Even in towns that are dry you can sell liquor if it's a "club", so some places won't sell you anything until you join the club (typically free, this is just a way around the law).
Click to expand...

Costco gets away with it because the liquor store is actually separate from the regular store.
 
dougp said:
Costco gets away with it because the liquor store is actually separate from the regular store.
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Not in California. It is in the store with everything else and you can buy beer, wine, vodka, tequila, rum, scotch, etc. and they usually have some pretty good brands like Grey Goose, Kettle One, and a Kirkland brand as well. Their wine selection is also very good and very reasonably priced.

You can buy vodka and wine in the supermarkets here too and there are none of those stupid we don't sell booze on Sunday laws either.
 
JulesMaximus said:
Not in California. It is in the store with everything else and you can buy beer, wine, vodka, tequila, rum, scotch, etc. and they usually have some pretty good brands like Grey Goose, Kettle One, and a Kirkland brand as well. Their wine selection is also very good and very reasonably priced.

You can buy vodka and wine in the supermarkets here too and there are none of those stupid we don't sell booze on Sunday laws either.
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Except we're not talkin' about Cal-e-phornia in this thread. We're talkin' about da great countrey of Tejas!
 
Can't really help with any advice but if you do open up a store and I'm ever up in Denton (I work at Alliance, so I'm not that far), I'll come buy something 😀
 
minendo said:
My father in law opened a liquor store in West Texas and the first few years it went great seeing as to how they were the only licensed store in the area. Once the "dry laws" were removed and gas stations, grocery stores, etc started selling beer/wine sales quickly declined as most of their business was in beer/wine. They have since sold their license and utilize the store front for a different business.
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If it is the location I am thinking of, your FIL was ripping off the good folks of the South Plains for decades. I doubt anyone will shed a tear for his loss.
 
I haven't been to the Denton area in a while, but I have noticed that Specs has started sweeping the DFW area with new locations. You might have a large competitor not long after you move in.
 
dougp said:
*taps his sarcasm detector*

Mine works, you might need to get calibrated. Calibration is subject to fees only in California.
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I wouldn't do it. Calibration contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause [cancer, and] birth defects or other reproductive harm.
 
JulesMaximus said:
Not in California. It is in the store with everything else and you can buy beer, wine, vodka, tequila, rum, scotch, etc. and they usually have some pretty good brands like Grey Goose, Kettle One, and a Kirkland brand as well. Their wine selection is also very good and very reasonably priced.

You can buy vodka and wine in the supermarkets here too and there are none of those stupid we don't sell booze on Sunday laws either.
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What days is it acceptable to drink on the beach there in that booze utopia?
 
dustb0wlkid said:
If it is the location I am thinking of, your FIL was ripping off the good folks of the South Plains for decades. I doubt anyone will shed a tear for his loss.
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I doubt it is the location you are thinking of. It was in a small town in West Texas.
 
Phoenix86 said:
In general, no. There's several silly liquor laws on the books here basically supermarkets will sell beer, beer and wine or nothing at all. Many cities have their own liquor laws as well; wet, damp (beer/wine), beer only or dry.

Arlington allowed wine sales a few years back and just now is allowing a few liquor stores. Even then I read it's like 4 stores in the whole city and they aren't spread out by any means.

IIRC Sam's gets away with it because it's a private club. Even in towns that are dry you can sell liquor if it's a "club", so some places won't sell you anything until you join the club (typically free, this is just a way around the law).
Click to expand...

The Arlington Costco sells wine.

The Fort Worth(Hulen) Costco sells Liquor, beer and wine. The liquor and beer have a separate entrance and closed off part of the building.
 
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minendo said:
I doubt it is the location you are thinking of. It was in a small town in West Texas.
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There are a lot of towns/counties in West Texas that were dry and went wet over the past ~6 years.

Since he said South Plains that means the general vicinity of Lubbock(which includes, Brownfield, Levelland, Plainview, Littlefield, Floydada, and a lot of other really tiny communities). They all went wet a few years ago.

The "strip"(named for its old Vegas style lighting) outside of Lubbock where everyone went to buy any type of booze is no more. Once Lubbock county went wet all the stores closed up(really they moved locations). I saw a number of liquor businesses open and go out of business once Lubbock went wet. Specs opening in Lubbock didn't help matters for the smaller mom/pop liquor stores.
 
interesting side bar. there is a petition going around colorado and flyers up in the grocery stores to allow beer higher than 3.2% and wine sales in grocery stores. look on the facebook page and people are screaming that its will kill off mom & pop liquor stores and put thousands out of people of a job along with destroy the huge craft beer market that colorado has.

me i love going to Washington or Texas where i go shopping and get some wine for dinner all in one stop, and guess what liquor stores are plentiful.
 
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Wreckem said:
The Arlington Costco sells wine.

The Fort Worth(Hulen) Costco sells Liquor, beer and wine. The liquor and beer have a separate entrance and closed off part of the building.
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costco does not own it. its operated by a vendor. ever notice you are not asked for your costco card when entering the attached booze store?
 
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