SUMMER 2009 EDITION
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Alcohol, wine sales rising in Columbia
COLUMBIA — Amid bad economic reports, sales at Columbia liquor stores are on the rise. But at the city's taverns, business is down, a trend that bartenders say might have more to do with the economy than the usual summer downturn.
Happy hour runs from 4 to 7 p.m. at McNally's, a decade-old Irish bar in downtown Columbia. The deals and steals run amok right next to the more expensive bottles of Grey Goose vodka. Even in a down economy, people hoping to make an impression order the Grey Goose, General Manager Ken Townsend said.
“It’s a fine, premium booze,” Townsend said. “I’m sure it tastes fine. (But) if you’re paying for anything above Stoli, you’re wasting your money.”
High-end cocktail sales notwithstanding, sales at McNally's are down 12 percent right now after a five-year climb of 25 percent.
“There was a mass exodus of kids for the summer,” Townsend said. “It’s just very slow around town. Town’s just quiet this year.”
Like McNally’s, Campus Bar & Grill is seeing fewer faces than in previous summers, said Manager Matthew Hudson.
“I would guess (it’s) down 25 percent, easy, I would think,” Hudson said.
It may be a tough year for the bars, but liquor store sales are increasing or at least staying the same, store owners said.
Alcohol is cheaper at liquor stores, making it perhaps one way people deal with stress in an economic downturn, Wellness Resource Center Director Kim Dude said.
“It’s more likely that the stress that the economy is creating is what’s causing them to perhaps drink a little more,” Dude said.
Townsend isn't worried about McNally's future.
“It’s all about keeping people happy,” he said. “Give them cheap beer a few nights a week, and they’ll come back on nights when it’s not so cheap.”
Wine sales in Columbia haven’t gone down with the sinking economy, either
.Bleu Restaurant and Wine Bar co-owner Travis Tucker said sales at the downtown establishment have gone well enough for him to open the Vault, a second wine-only bar on the lower level of the restaurant.
Top Ten Wines owner Paul Vernon said his business has seen a 12 percent to 15 percent increase in sales over this time last year. Vernon, who has been in the wine business for 16 years, also said his new location on Ninth Street should increase sales.
Vernon credited changing his focus from a broad market to selling moderately priced wines ranging from $10 to close to $100 per bottle for the upswing. He said sales of higher-priced wines, which can reach $1,000 per bottle, are plummeting.
Of that market, Vernon said, “I expect a lot of wineries in California to close.”
The Vault, which opened in September, is unique. Instead of bottles lining shelves behind the bar, the wall is filled with wine “globes.” Each globe can hold 33 bottles of wine, and the 19 globes on the wall hold enough wine to fill 600 bottles. Tucker said he got the idea for the concept in Nashville, Tenn.
He said he isn’t sure whether the recession is causing people to drink more, but some of his patrons have hinted that the economy does play a role in their visits to his bar.
“Some regulars look at their stocks and know it is time for a drink," Tucker said.