Wine World is currently closed and is stating that it’s a temporary liquor license issue due to ownership transfer paperwork complications, but there are fiscal complications on top of that. Being closed at Christmas will of course not help.
Not only has there been trouble keeping the shelves stocked lately, but they’ve gone on record looking to sublet part of their space. I reached out to Brian Smith of the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board to get details on the license issue, who writes:
Wine World and Spirits, LLC applied for an application to assume a spirits retailer license located at 400 NE 45th Street in Seattle in December of 2014. During the application process it was discovered that a separate individual had purchased the business last spring (2015) and despite all of our attempts to license that individual they have yet to submit documentation regarding the acquisition of the business to prove their ownership. An enforcement officer met with the individual to explain the consequences of operating without a license and set a timeline for him to apply. He didn’t follow through despite our efforts.
There is also a pending license suspension for the spirits retailer license at this location(current licensee), they owe approximately $211,375.00 in spirits fees as of October of 2015.
This is all a shame as it’s a local business full of good people, and from a purely selfish standpoint they also had fantastic selection at one time (Ouzo 12!) They were never very practical though- we went in to buy wine glasses last Christmas, and they only had a few crazy-big glasses that they didn’t even have a box for. Then again, the fact that they weren’t a metric driven big-box retailer was part of the charm.
For wine and beer there are of course City Cellars and Bottleworks, or just plain old QFC. For spirits, the Shell gas station across from Dick’s is now selling them, although we haven’t checked out the selection yet. For larger liquor selection there’s the Bev Mo in Ballard and Northgate, or the liquor store at the QFC in U-Village. The liquor privatization game seems to be favoring corporations over small business, which I guess isn’t surprising as Costco paid for the ballot measure.
Costco wrote the initiative, paid for it and is reaping the profits. Fear the future holds fewer locally owned small businesses in our neighborhood.
Yes, sad about Wine World. And no surprise given many internal ownership & financial squabbles for at least two years that were affecting every aspect of the business — including stock levels. The last time I went there most shelves were half empty. So, I go to Total Wine at Northgate. Great selection and the prices would be good were it not for those bottle taxes. Speaking of which, does anyone know when those end?
QFC in Wallingford also sells liquor. As does Trader Joes on Roosevelt.
I highly recommend that we support our Wallingford mom and pop stores — City Cellars and Bottleworks. You will receive personalized service and quality product at competitive prices. Let’s hear it for the home team!!
sure, if you want to subject yourselves to poor service, elitism and crappy attitudes, by all means visit Bottlewerks, or their affiliated restaurant Burgundian. I have never had a positive experience at either place.
Never been my experience at City Cellars, and seldom at Bottleworks. Has it actually been yours? Or maybe some are cut out for gas station hooch houses.
Haven’t noticed any of this, but I have wished for a flashlight. Guess that might harm the beer though.
The Grizzled Wizard fills growlers and does kegs to go. Also, the former Erotic Bakery location at the corner of sunnyside and 45th has a notice of application for liquor license on the door, for beer and wine store sales.
How is Shell selling spirits? I thought you need 10,000 square feet of retail space to get licensed for spirits.
Shell bought the license from the liquor store that used to be across the street, and I think if you buy an existing license, you do not need to meet the square footage minimum.
Which shows how idiotic the 10,0000 square foot rule is.
Grandfather in existing smaller stores, but make all the new ones be 10,000 sq. ft. or more. A gas station liquor store is what that rule was supposed to be about – protecting the chiiillllrrruuunnn from being able to get their grubby paws on the booze in small mom and pop stores. Easier to watch a few racks in a small store than needing to staff up just to have eyes on the likker all the time.,
Not sure I follow – the 10Ksqft rule is idiotic, so let’s make sure it applies to all new stores?
I don’t care for the rule myself, I like the idea of an owner operated smaller liquor store. The problem with Shell is not that it’s small, but that it isn’t a liquor store, it’s a convenience store and gas station. If the system had any room for discretionary approval, by the LCB or maybe WCC, I doubt it would have happened.
I will take this opportunity to +1 donn
Oooh wee — that $211K fine would be kind of a problem for most small businesses!
The $211,375isn’t a fine. It’s for taxes/fees they collected on sales of alcohol that were not remitted to the State.
Or do like we do and buy in Oregon. I’m just bummed our sidewalks are still heavily littered with Steel Reserve cans and, come spring, the sodden folks who drink that crap.
As we do.
Interesting new update on the Wine World site, showing that people/businesses that are affected by Wallyhood coverage are aware of it. Whether or not what they say is entirely true will be proven over time, but it does raise the question as to if Eric attempted to contact the owner or manager prior to publishing this.
The local vs corporate editorial dig, presented without facts (I don’t know the numbers but I doubt Eric does, either), is par for the course. Blaming Costco instead of the state legislature isn’t surprising, either. Wallingford had two local/small owners for awhile but Emerald couldn’t make it work. If/when Wine World gets going again, it’ll be interesting to see how Shell’s sales do.
The perspective of the article isn’t surprising, because what happened with the privatization initiative couldn’t be more obvious.
I liked the old Wine World of years past. It will be interesting to see if this new crew can get it back on its feet, but, reading that letter … it reminds me how lucky we are to have a very classy, stable, professional retailer in City Cellars a few blocks away.
As far as I can tell, they did as good a job with spirits as anybody in the city, and it doesn’t sound like prospects for revival are good. It’s horrible news. I’d like to hear suggestions about where to go in the region for anything like their selection. Obviously, Costco nor BevMo come close to filling the gap.
I haven’t been to many, mostly Downtown Spirits. They may have a better selection than Wine World did, in places. It depends on what you’re into.