Liquor superstore Total Wine & More recently announced plans to open two locations in the St. Louis-area this fall, as reported by the St. Louis Business Journal. The national chain will open one store at 90 Brentwood Promenade Court in Brentwood and another at 13887 Manchester Road in Town & Country. Both locations are currently awaiting licensing approval from the state of Missouri.
Edward Cooper, vice president of public affairs and community relations, said these two locations will be the first Total Wine & More stores in Missouri. The Maryland-based company currently operates 114 locations in 16 states. The 15,000-plus-square-foot superstores will offer approximately 8,000 wines, 3,000 spirits and 2,500 beers. Each store will also have a wine education center to be used for ongoing staff training and classes for consumers on wine, beer and spirits. It will also be available for local community groups to book at no cost to host private events.
After establishing four successful stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Cooper said the company began to look at other Midwest markets. “We knew that the St. Louis area was terrific for lovers of wine, beer and spirits, so that’s where we concentrated our real estate efforts and expansion efforts,” he said. “There are also customers … that are adventurous and looking for something new, whether it be a cool craft beer or a really interesting wine or spirit that they haven’t seen before.”
Cooper said Total Wine & More’s educated service team sets the liquor store apart, with employees receiving extensive training in wine, beer and spirits. “When customers come into the store, they’ll encounter a team member – or two or three – who is very well-versed in the beverage alcohol world and can help them find what they’re looking for,” he said.
This article appears in April 2015.