Can you make money owning a liquor store

Previous post Next post. But, here I am … proud owner of a liquor license and a terrific selection of craft beers, pinot noirs and small batch bourbons…. As I walked around with the owner, it became clear that the liquor business was being sold with the building. So, deciding to roll the dice, I made an offer.

With the building under contract I began due diligence. I remember thinking, before I ever contemplated the notion of liquor store ownership, retail liquor stores enjoy a tidy little monopoly. Well, yes and no. The liquor business is highly complex. Retail liquor, at least in Colorado, is a fascinating business. Huge number of SKUs. The quantities of categories, brands, flavors, price points and size variations are mind-numbing.

Talk about Big Data. Liquor distribution is heavily regulated in Colorado with a 3-tier system composed of manufacturers, distributors and retailers; each tier has its own set of rules and requires its own special license with an application paperwork trail that only a lawyer could love.

Inventory is expensive and margins are thin, managing inventory and cash flow is extraordinarily difficult and SKU level demand is nearly impossible to forecast accurately. This is good by the way. Distributors hold all the power. As a retail liquor store owner I am only allowed to purchase inventory from a licensed distributor.

Every licensed distributor has a complete monopoly on every product they sell. So, any self-respecting liquor store should have various sizes of Jack Daniels on the shelf, right? The only possible way you can get any sort of discount is by purchasing large volumes. When I learned this was the way the system worked I was stunned. The Budweiser distributor welcomed us to the industry by requiring cash upon delivery for the first 90 days.

No day net invoice. Not even a money order. Cash on the barrelhead. We pay hourly employees a decent wage as well. The store is humming along. We did a good bit of business around the holidays and customer traffic is steady. However, the setup is perfect for an owner-operator. As an owner-operator of a liquor store you have roughly the same job security as a tenured college professor.

The store could go under if you fail to compete effectively or if the market for liquor dries up somehow just like a school could close or an academic department could be eliminated. And, your take-home pay will vary with some years better than others depending on volume.

But, so long as you have customers who walk in the door, no one can really take away your job. Sure, I wish the store was a huge cash cow; you know, pay myself a nice salary every month and do whatever I want all day. Customer service is better. More people have skin in the game and a strong incentive to take care of their stretch of sidewalk in the community.

In fact, aside from the distributor monopolies and the cumbersome government licensing process, it just might be a model worth considering for distribution of other commodities, like fresh food.

Liquor Store For Sale Geographical Perspectives. I think if someone is going out to do a big shop they are more likely to go to one of the big box liquor stores rather than to our small store. But for most of our customers the convenience of our location is a more important factor.

Hope that answers the question for you. To me this is number one in choosing where I spend my money, no matter what the item is.

I am willing to pay more for this type of service. This is lost in big box stores. I can remember the day of good advice at stores, car part shops, etc. That is such a shame what they have done to our country. Cutter, it is indeed a sad state of affairs. As part of the deal our communities have become more car dependent and less business savvy. Residents complain about the struggling local economy yet send their money to Wall St via k plans rather than investing locally.

And no one seems to notice the irony. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Justin, just a quick question. In the restaurant business there are manufacture rebates and spiffs available that if worked diligently can really effect your bottom line.

I am a proud owner of a liquor store for more then 10 yrs. Amazing how close and sharp your notions are for the nature of the business. Same kind of problems we have here in NJ. Big businesses with the deep pockets have all privileges of buying cheep and drive the prices down. Our privilege is locality and customer-friendly service. But, but My only hopes it will stay the same way for another 10, or so yrs.

A 3-Point Plan for Marijuana Distribution in the City of Pueblo Geographical Perspectives. Thanks for the info. My husband and I would like to buy or start one in a small northern colorado town. With the oil and gas influx the traffic would be good.

I am an accountant and am looking to change. This would be my undertaking. Hi Brenda, best of luck to you and your husband! Be sure to start with a good war chest of cash so you can take advantage of volume deals on your best SKUs! Very good information and clearly explained. My partner and I are studying the possibility of buying a liquor store in Miami and we are just studying the same issues you mention in your blog. Hi Caesar, thanks for the comment! Glad to hear that some of the info is transferable to other States.

Best wishes to you and your partner! I know your post is a couple years old now but, I have been looking in the South Fla area as well for a liquor store. Will be glad to sit and talk about our business point of view, share ideas and opinions.

How small of a store is Mesa Junction? Just trying to differentiate between a Mom and Pop operation and a megastore.

Hi Adam, the store area is sq ft with about half of that accessible to customers. We have 2 employees working during business hours but just 1 register. Do you think this model is viable? Or is hard alcohol required to make it profitable? What I will say is that, at least in Colorado, profit margins on liquor hard alcohol are quite a bit higher than they are for beer.

I would imagine you would also lose a whole lot of revenue as beer aficionados may also need to grab a pint of Jack Daniels from time to time. Rather than focusing on specific product categories I would suggest focusing on a specific customer segment. Talk to beer aficionados and find out what they would want on the shelves.

InI opened a small boutique store that specialized in fine wine and craft beer. We had weekly wine and cheese parties, sold a variety of accompaniments, made seasonal gift baskets, and even even held raffles to bring in extra business. There was absolutely no shortage of customers, but the business itself was simply not lucrative enough to thrive. We had a loyal customer base and our location was ideal for this type of store.

I closed the doors of the store after a year and a half of consistently shoveling money out of my pocket into the business account. Grocery chains have been trying to change the liquor laws for years. The liquor lobby seems to have the upper hand, at least for now. If laws were to change, liquor store owners would need to innovate to survive. Some locations would have no chance. Sounds like you had a store in a suburban median income area. Did you find it difficult to decide what crafts to bring in with all the proliferation of skus?

Hi John, The big grocers have been trying for decades to get full alcohol sales. I hope not but stranger things have happened. I would avoid liquor store locations in shopping centers right next to large grocery stores. They will be the first to go under if the laws change. I prefer urban locations to avoid the Big Box developments.

I would expect some sort of transition period if they do make the shift. Still, I would bet against it. My store location was urban and fairly low income.

We mostly had a difficult time keeping the cheapest oz beers in stock. SKU proliferation is a big problem.

My advice is to have a huge pile of cash in the bank to provide a cushion. I know you cant mention profits or cash flow, but could you share an estimated ROI from your store? The new store owner will probably exercise an option to purchase the real estate in When all is said and done I expect to have at least doubled my investment capital. As a passive investor you can either make money by flipping, like I did, or by purchasing a higher volume store with more potential to generate regular cash flow.

However, this latter option requires a much larger pile of cash up-front. Thanks you for this article i found if very informative. I am looking for a small business opportunity in NY.

I understand this business isnt a cash cow and the margins are thin but you also describe is as stable and able to provide a comfortable living. Would you suggest this a a valid first time business owner opportunity? Hi David, glad my post was helpful! If the owner is providing financing it will be more difficult to get a lower price.

Another key factor is real estate — can you buy the real estate? If not, are good lease terms available, etc. I do think a liquor store is a decent first time business owner opportunity.

Just be sure you have a good pile of cash in the war chest for start up expenses. Think of it as tuition to be paid. Retired from IBM at age 55 and have been operating this store ever since. My brother and I both put up We have a long lease. My brother and his wife and I and my wife operate the store. My brother and I each draw 90, a year. Wives are not paid. We are in Texas and it never ceases to amaze me how consistent the revenue is from one year to the next.

In our six years we have been very fortunate to have minimized the mistakes that most new business owners make. The one thing that really stands out is your statement, any liquor store owner is at the mercy of the distributors. How true it is. Rickey — thanks so much for sharing your experience and thoughts! Congrats on retiring from Big Blue and moving to a situation where you have more control over your own destiny aside from those darn distributors.

I went into my own venture with too little capital, underestimating the amount of money needed to accommodate proper inventory levels and cash position. Thanks again and best wishes, Justin. You are a life saver!!! I need help buying a liquor store.

Can you call or text me at Thanks for your insight, it was very helpful. My husband and I currently own a franchise in northern colorado but are considering leasing the building next to our store and opening a liquor store. Do you think we should try to negotiate some of that cost into our lease agreement? If so how does the licensing work for that?

Could you carve out a portion of your existing for liquor sales? That might be better. You just need separation between the two areas within the store.

You also need separate cash registers. For lease negotiations, competition, non-liquor items, tastings, etc I will try to answer when I have more time. Let me know what you think about dividing the Hi Justin, you are a wealth of information, I wish I could add you to my pocket in our venture.

We see a sea of liquor stores for sale and wondered why and if it would be a wise choice for us. We have owned and operated our existing business for 10 years and neither one of us is afraid of putting in the time to succeed. What other experience and advice would you be willing to share that would help us decide if this is the right choice.

We do not want to purchase a store that has a lease, we would want to buy one that has the building included in the sale. We would also be going into this business with a good savings for purchasing inventory as we know there is always a large investment in inventory and we would always pay our vendors at delivery. Hi Penny — location is everything in this venture. That would be a good question to answer. We need good business people with solid Midwestern values to help improve the economy in Pueblo.

Plus your real estate dollar will go about twice as far as it would in Colorado Springs. What sort of location? Or suburban shopping center? Who are your customers? Office workers grabbing a pack on the way home from work? Message from a french guy, reading your blog.

Interesting to see how american people can discuss business and share experience. Reading your post and comments make me think I should really try to! Hi, Justin 1 Looking into buying a liquor store in NorthWest of Denver. Asking price isand not inlcuding inventory. Based on these numbers, how much would you offer? Do the numbers look healthy? Will that help with sale or is it worth it?

Any other recommendations that you might pass on to make sure I am making a good decision or something I need to watch out for? Again thank you so much for your help! Also, is the lease renewable at the end of 8 years? I would insist on an option to renew after the current term. How much for the inventory? Find out what the breakdown is for Beer, Liquor and Wine. You might request to work the store alongside the owner for at least one full week to validate sales numbers.

Plus it brings traffic. Add groceries and other convenience items is good too but you have to comply with State law which requires a separate cash register and a clear distinction between the retail space dedicated to liquor vs retail space dedicated to other sales.

There are lots of other factors. Competition is key, of course. So is parking, visibility, traffic flow, and on and on. Hi Justin, 1 Buying a liquor store Southwest of Denver.

Asking price is , inventory excluded. What would you offer? Any other ideas you can pass it on so I can verify the accuracy of the sale?

Is that a good idea? Hi Justin, Thank you again for the response. Is it possible to exchange numbers and talk at some point? I am coming close to making an offer and would love to talk with you and get some advice and I am willing to hire your services.

Wow, thanks for all of your information. How should I approach this, especially the inventory price? I am planning to buy a liquor store with real estate priced at k includes k inventory. Annual sales are 1 million.

How much would I net with that kind of sales and no lease payments or mortgage payments? Hi Dan, There are a few more variables necessary to come up with a net income estimate. It depends on cost of utilities refrigeration is expensiveannual licensing expenses, credit card fees and other misc costs. The more you work, the more you keep in your pocket. Maybe plan on a bit less the first year or two.

If the real estate is worth less you may be paying too much. It has been interesting reading your blog. You sound like an amazing entrepreneur! In one of my capstone classes, we have been asked to complete a business plan start to finish. They let us deliver alcohol in MI!

Finance and start up costs are posing to be my most difficult area to come up with answers as most businesses do not display financial data for everyone to see.

Any suggestions to add to my plan would be greatly appreciated. Your article has already helped spark new ideas to add. My parents owned one when I was a teenager for about 8 years so I have a general idea of how things are ran and operated, I simple hate finance and this is the weakest area on my business plan. Hi Alyssa, thanks for reading my blog!

What do you have so far for a pro forma? I can give you some ideas for the liquor inventory piece of the puzzle but there will be many expense categories to cover. You might also hate mops but customers like clean floors.

For small businesses financial analysis is just a matter of gathering basic information and translating into a set of numerical estimates. Start with a list of anticipated expenses. Revenue forecasting is far more of a challenge.

I would like to have a look at your business plan that you did. I found you on liquor store blog. The rent sounds high to me. I need to have a tutorial on the basics of selling into an account.

Understanding margins, how to negotiate case prices for a brand new product, etc. Do you know of a good book? I would love to speak with a store manager. I wont be selling the product in Colorado and would sign a non disclosure agreement. The product has a lot of potential. I cant discuss in a public forum. We are thinking of seeking out independent sales contractors who sell into accounts for us, having a wholesales group handling distribution.

The distributor agreements with their sales force cuts heavily into profits. Looking to see if we can work around that. In Colorado retail liquor store owners are required by law to purchase through a licensed distributor. I have studied in logistics and supply chain, cost price, management, inventory are fun to me. I mean we have wall-mart here as well and pretty much the same stores but liquor are different. Eventually when you see quickly the question: But i guess the licenced distributor is the Guy there… so He decides.

How many different kind of bottle a store can handle? I dont know that answer but for sure best seller are best seller but you dont need to have the inventory for the next year…I read that a good Lstore can change his inventory 8 to 10 times in 1 year. Well thats almost every 6 weeks. I dont know how the supplier work seems to mw that hes the BOSS of your business in a certain way. What do you think Monsieur Justin?

Justin tu achete un inventaire de rhum peu importe la marque. Combien de bouteille il faut acheter pour arriver a un bon prix. First off, awesome blog. There are not too many liquor store owners that would take the time to write such useful information. I would like to know what kind of Point of Sale software you would recommend?

The options are daunting. Price was significantly less than some alternatives. Easy to use and runs on Mac which was a priority for my manager. My only complaint was limited reporting capabilities. Justin Thank you for the information it has been a great help.

I am in the process of putting together a bid for a Liquor Store in Southeastern Colorado. Real estate does not have a great value and coolers need updated.

I have also been told that the seller wants to retire very soon due to age and health which tells me that he would take less. I have a feeling that the books might not be clean; cash might be leaving the business and not getting reported. Because of this I am going to look at purchases also.

Also can you tell me what the average margin is on the 3 main product categories. Once again Thank you for your help in this matter and the help you have given everyone with this blog. What sort of revenue numbers are they quoting? When the price is too good to be true it may be a red flag. But it all depends on your customers and their preferences. I suppose it always depends on your customers. Anyway, hope this helps a bit.

What is the best product to get inventory for, in other words what alchohol grosses the most money. When you buy inventory it should be tailored to your particular customer base. Some customers like cheap beer, cheap vodka and cheap whiskey.

Some like high-end wines and spirits. As a store owner you need to find out what your customers want to buy. Then find ways to build a profitable inventory to serve their purchase patterns. Thanks Justin I am a little new to the buisness and have not made any relations with suppliers, is there any suppliers who are trying to cheap stores and have outragous costs, I want to make sure I buy from the right people.

Your only path to lower costs is via volume purchases. And, of course, you can only afford to make large purchases for product SKUs you sell the most. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Hi Justin, lets say the proposed change in the liquor law passes and grocery stores are allowed to sell liquor.

If my liquor store is anchored by a grocery store how likely would the city give another alcohol beverage license to a business that is right next door to a place that already has an existing license, would the grocery store chain attempt to buy my liquor stores license.

What are your thoughts on that scenario. Might want to try to add a clause to your lease releasing you in case of change in the law. Or proactively begin communication with the grocery store management. They may want someone to manage liquor inventory for them. Hi Justin, Like others here, I am looking for opinion and knowledge before seriously contemplating a store purchase.

The owner will lease turn the key business for a month for 1 year with lease fee deducted from purchase price if property is bought after one year. Asking price isOf course inventory would be purchased at start of lease. In your opinion does this seem like a good venture? Would you have any idea what the gross profit percentage might be? I should add they now sell beer, wine and liquor, but there is an additional sq ft available in store but not used at present for retail space.

What other products could be added to increase sales? Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Unless the deal includes real estate or some other special consideration the price tag for the business seems too high. Gross revenue is pretty low. How has it changed over the past five years?

I think I would favor a deal with higher gross. Being that tiny makes you even more vulnerable to the pricing whims of distributors. To add sales revenue I would add tobacco for sure. Depending on state law maybe use the ft to sell snacks etc convenience store style.

The 3 Lessons I Learned After Accidentally Buying a Liquor Store | Geographical Perspectives

As for change as I understand, the gross has gone down since the present owner has had it by about k. The owner admits this is mostly from not operating it himself and not managing it properly because of his other commitments. It is close to a lake, maybe bait and fishing gear along with the convenience items?

Thank you, again Dave. Is the location rural? If so, might be very slow when it gets cold, i. Fishing gear is a good idea. But I would want to see a transaction count to better understand seasonal variability.

The price seems reasonable since real estate and equipment is included, depending on market values for similar property in the area. You may want to request a provision to avoid depleted inventory when you take over. In this situation I would probably want an owner carry deal. If he says he wants a clean exit so he can take the money and move on I would run the other direction. Be sure to start out with plenty of cash in the bank after you purchase the store to ride the inevitable ups and downs while you learn the particulars of the customers and suppliers in your market.

Very impressed with your blog, business acumen and willingness to help others! Store is in NY — wine and liquor only. Also curious as to what you think about an owner putting in hours with employees covering evenings and weekends? Store is located on a very busy roadway in a large shopping center next to a supermarket.

This business has had continued sales daily forex support and resistance can you make money owning a liquor store year since it was started in There are 6 years left on the lease it can be extended.

State of the art POS software. Sounds like a good opportunity with strong cash flow. Owner working 50 hours per week should be fine if you have good people and treat them right. Maybe take off Sun-Mon. Did you end up buying the store — I am looking at one, also in NY, that seems to be very similar Not the same one though.

Liquor store is doing 2. Location is great, right off the main road in town, with ample parking. Please let me know what you think. Hi Jay, how much do you think the real estate is worth? Also, does the asking price include inventory? I have a partner and would like to a win win business strategy for binary options 75k each.

Now, rather than both or one of us behind the counter we want to hire employees and have the pay be commission based. I do understand paying commission will eat into our profit but I think in the long run we could have employees that could push sales and would be willing to educate themselves in the products. If we were to go with commission based pay, how much or what percentage do you feel would work well? Hi Harvey, thanks for visiting and posting your questions. Depends on too many factors, especially the local market dynamics, location, competition, etc.

If neither of you works the store you may not have much of anything left at the end of the year. For a store at that volume I recommend you work behind the counter. More importantly you need to get to know your customers so you can provide the level of service necessary to keep them coming back.

My advice is to find a partner who wants to work at the store full time.

Sorry, this is probably not what you wanted to hear. First of all, thank you for all the information you are providing and for posting this great blog. It is very informative for the first time business buyers. Also, it will motivate people like me to post and share our experience so people make less mistakes and excel.

I plan on buying a liquor store learn forex trading step by step IL. Owner has 5 employees and also pays salary to self I have to find out how she pays herself. Payroll expenses are 82K. These numbers seem pretty good.

Asking price is slightly high but not unreasonable. Depending on your financial circumstances, you might ask about the possibility of owner carry so you can begin with the strongest possible cash position. Thank you very much for your input. How do you verify the sales and makes sure the numbers are correct? I am guessing tax papers? I have couple Qs please help me out, any comments or your advice is appreciated. One liquor store how much money does a professional cheerleader make a year GA sell 6,5 millions plus 1.

Total sale 7,7 millions Cost goods sold. Dear Justin, they asked 7,5 million, could you please give me an advise HOW MUCH WE CAN MAKE AN OFFER?

Thank you for your time and kindness to help me out, any your advice or comments is appreciated. You should get an appraisal from a good realtor who knows the local market. See 1 for real estate. Thank you very very much Justin. I am very happy to accept your advice and I will livestock and poultry world markets and trade report a deal like that.

I also check the real estates to see what going on. Use my contact form to send me a private message and we can go from there. The numbers you have given from the GA liquid store are similar to a store I am evaluating. Would you mind giving me your phone number or email address, I would like to know if you ever got it?

Why and why not? I am looking to buy a liquid store at similar price point here in Atlanta, GA. Ok… I have a friend looking to set up from scratch a liquor store forex billund lufthavn the Rustenburg area of South Africa.

This is a total start up from nothing. I have read the entirety of comments and answers on this page so now have much information to digest. How would you approach this situation early days as it is? Hi Justin, how are you? I have couple Qs, please please help me out, Justin. I do appreciate your time and kindness. The Qs regarding FIRST OFFER AND SELLER INFO. In general, what do we have from seller before first offer. So do i need an agent for me.

If i have first offer document, do i need an Attorney to do that. Do I have to pay from my pocket for appraisal? Please help me out about appraisal, when and how we need to do that. Even now we dont know much seller info, but we do offer we have to have some conditions. So i list following. Plesse help me anything else we have to do. This contract shall be contingent upon the closing of the existing business located at address 3.

Buyer shall pay only closing costs associated with obtaining the SBA loan. Seller shall pay all closing costs associated with this transaction the sale of land, improvement, and Business. Seller warrants that Seller and the Manager s employed at the liquor store Business shall provide training to Buyer, at no additional cost to Buyer, from the date in which Seller receives the commitment letter issued by the Lender until thirty 30 days after closing date.

Training shall be provided every day that the liquor store business is opened and from the time the business opens to the time that the business closes. This provision shall be considered a personal service agreement between Seller north carolina livestock auctions Buyer. Seller acknowledges that a material breach of this paragraph will result in irreparable and continuing damage to Buyer for which there will be no adequate remedy at law.

The parties expressly agree that this provision does not represent a penalty or punitive clause but represents an agreed measure of damages, the amount of which is impossible to determine on the date of this Agreement is signed.

I know you are busy of scheduleI am proud of you and appreciate what you have done for me. You should consult an attorney before signing any sort of formal purchase agreement. Be sure a formal offer is contingent on financing, property inspection bible gann stock market verification of sales data so you have the option to walk away once you learn more.

In fact, it can be a good lite forex broker because the seller may start counting their money before the deal is done giving you leverage. Thank you very very much Justin. How should I go about this? I have ZERO idea about liquor business or make it rain money gun gif retail business. Thank you so much for your insight and expertise.

My husband has recently taken and interest with opening a liquor store from scratch in the Atlanta area of Georgia. We do not have any start up cash, and would be looking to the bank for a loan. We also would be looking to sign a lease for location for the business. He is willing to work in the store full time, and I will help out on weekends. I have read your post as well as the comments. I know it will be challenging but, in your opinion, does it seem feasible for us to try our hand with such a business, considering we have no cash to start with and not a lot of knowledge about this industry?

I would recommend against it. Note this is based on my attempt to read moneycontrol stocks market game very complex and poorly organized liquor code in Colorado. Also, your lack of experience is concerning.

My recommendation would be to suggest to your husband that it might be wise to work as an employee in a liquor store before making the plunge. He can offer to work for cheap and maybe a manager or owner could teach top money makers pga 2016 more than cashiering.

This store needs to be closed and pinkslips stock market up, I want to change it into a fine wine and craft beer store. The neighborhood is ripe for it, highlands area in Denver. Hi Mark, Many liquor store operators under-report cash sales. Base your offer on his tax returns. Justin, Thanks for your feedback. Prior year gross sales: That would change some forexpros brent crude advanced chart this would be primarily owner operated.

Nothing wrong with a competent, cost effective manager but much more would be superfluous. Just not sure if the math works: At that rate the complete ROI would be years. Hi Steve, This sounds like a good deal. As far as profit, how much net profit are they showing with the numbers above? In any case, this does sound like a pretty good deal.

Hi, can you tell me who I need to talk to to get pricing on beer, wine and liquor. Hi Shareholders default put option — you need to contact local distributors. You could also try talking to liquor store owners in the same market.

Hi Justin, My friend and I are thinking of buying Liquor store in Oklahoma. Grocery stores in Oklahoma do not sell Liquor yet, but it vps forex percuma happen anytime. How would it effect out business if they start? The store is located on the busy road with Walmart about 1 mi and no other grocery stores to the east.

Can we still hope to make same amount of money ,even if grocery stores will start selling liquor? If grocery stores are able to sell liquor and the guide stock market neopets Wal-Mart chooses to participate it will be extremely difficult to compete. I think you can safely assume your revenue will decrease if the laws change in favor of grocery stores.

But I would think the retail liquor lobby would be able to negotiate some sort of concession for independent liquor store owners. If it were me, and I really liked this opportunity, I would use the uncertainty to negotiate a lower purchase price with the current owner to help offset the risk.

Or perhaps ask for owner financing so he shares part of the risk. I live in the great state of Tax Mass achusetts. My wife and I have been kicking around the idea to open a liquor store in a pretty busy main road where General mills stock ticker symbol am sure one complex we are looking at the lease is high.

As far as what we would need up front I assume we would have to apply for a liquor license which I am sure if expensive here in Mass. Is that along with inventory a pretty pricey up front cost I assume? It was very informative. Can you give me a percentage breakdown of what takes the anf stock options time running a liquor store? Hi Allen, inventory management and cash flow management are the two biggest headaches.

Thanks for the information. Could you see a liquor store making it if they were closed from Friday evening till opening again on Saturday evening?

Do you think a reputation as primarily a high end store would help or hurt with this schedule? Friday and Saturday are the biggest sales days of the week. A reputation as a high-end store is good if the population in your trade area is equally high-end. Reading through your blog has been very enlightening.

One of many questions I have is when buying a liquor store in Colorado, the buyer determines there is dead inventory, how does the buyer approach the seller. Do you know what the seller can legally do with the inventory? If possible I would like to talk with you in person about our endeavor. TIA for your reply. When I sold my store I had to take the dead inventory home. Happy to chat further. Use my contact form to send a private message.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could give me some insights as to whether this is a profitable or safe buy to dive into.

The business is posted for k asking price plus another 75k for inventory. Facility is about sq. But eventually I would like to just london forex hours gmt a manager and take over the store. The store is located in a strip mall, which is in the process of redeveloping, and posting says the store has good visibility as well as location to several earnest money virginia when to deposit apartment complexes.

Also, I read that Kansas just passed a bill this year that would allow grocery stores to sell liquor and wines starting July How much do you think this would affect the sales of an individual liquor store?

Hi Jessica, The price seems reasonable but that may be due to the history dhaka stock exchange bangladesh impact of grocers entering the market. And 3 years will go by pretty fast.

Your article was very informative. However I have a question. I am looking to join the craft spirits industry, and as you said, the distributors hold all the power thanks to the 3 tier system. I am a little concerned that getting products onto the shelves of retailers may be difficult as most retailers want to deal with just the major distributor accounts, and we all know that getting the distributors to pay attention to a new brand is like pulling teeth. My question is, is it possible for a retailer, or a group of retailers to force a major distributor to pick up a brand that they want on their shelves, and is there some sort of central ordering system that retailers use to place orders from their various distributors?

It will be an uphill battle. In Colorado, a Colorado-based producer of beer, wine or spirits can sell directly to retail liquor stores in Colorado but most of them end up working with a distributor.

It may be possible for retailers to band together but I think the system is set up to avoid such collaboration and bulk purchasing.

You might contact the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association and ask them for input. They know much more than I do. But it depends on how much lower prices would be per unit. It might not be enough.

Hi Justin, Thanks for what was the stock market in the great depression the valuable how does buzztime make money above.

I am looking at a liquor store in florida, sales oflast year, previous yearand the year beforethe store is only five yrs old and the owner is askingnetsI think should be a fair price as it includesinventory. Do you think I should rely on the numbers, they do come from tax returns but only last years sales were high the years before were comparatively low. Thanks for your inputs. Hi Kulu, I would want to understand how the revenue more than doubled in 2 years.

Maybe ask for a monthly breakdown. Hello Justin I kcb forex exchange rates looking at a store. The seller says that he has not kept records for some new york forex trading hours. The seller does not work at the store anymore but I would work 40 to 60 hours a week.

My question binary options in the catch how much a reasonable price would be, and is there anything else that I should be looking at. Does his price include inventory? If his price does include inventory you might not be too far apart. You have confirmed what I was already thinking. That would give me some room to go up a bit. I was looking at a smaller average mark up when I was running my figures.

I recently sold a professional, consulting services business with about employees that I owned and ran for the last years. Large inventories and dealing with distributors will be new to me.

I am used to working for myself and over the long haul, I like the idea of a relatively stable, long term investment that can provide me with a good income and forexpros us cotton no 2 able to run things part absentee as time going on obviously more hands on in the first few years. Am I crazy to think a liquor store might be an good opportunity?!

Probably take out an SBA loan so there will be debt servicing. Can you help be back into a few numbers? THANK YOU, Thank you, Thank you…. I fully plan to work the store myself, now the next step is coming up with the proper financing.

Thanks again for all of your insight and advice. Just wanted to clarify for you and all people who read your post, that in Russia there is no three tier system and you are allowed to import your wine, beer and hard liquor from a manufacturer directly to your store or purchase it from local producers! Thus, please, let it go with this silly Russia non sense. It only grows hatred and misunderstanding between two Great Nations! As for rest, thank you for a great post! We are thinking of opening a liquor store in Miami and you definitely brought some light to the matter!

Hi Dmitri, Sorry if you were offended. And was a different time in US-Russia relations. I have only love for the people of Russia. Watch the movie and let me know if you still think use of the quote is hurtful. Best of luck with your venture in Miami! Thanks for providing us your knowledge for free and helping others to make the right business decision from you experience. I hope all those you have benefited from your free gift will do unto others as it was done unto them.

I own a 26, s. They also said alums have no where to go and have a pre game party — so they were thinking a nicer store with a banquet room in the back and would support stock market terminal premises consumption that way.

Also alumni would be bigger spenders. Cash flow would be much slower during summer. Hi Dan, Lots of factors to consider. I would also check with the local liquor control board or equivalent to educate yourself on legal requirements. Laws vary from State to State so someone local would be the best highly volatile stocks for day trading. All I can say is …AMEN….

My business partner and I are interested in buying a liquor store in Wisconsin on a small lake. The actually village is small, roughly pop. That could be a problem. The store sells bait, tackle, pontoon boat and kayak rentals and boat slips along with having the largest wine selection html input type radio button selected the county.

Any thoughts and help would be extremely helpful, thanks! The deal includes real estate. If the real estate is worth less obviously you should adjust your offer accordingly. If something unexpected buy air nz shares during the summer, maybe a problem preventing use of the lake, your revenue and income could be completely shot down.

This is a good reason to be more conservative on the business valuation. The solution is to amortize over 20 years but allow the owners to cash out at the end of a few years, probably no more than 5.

The advantage of Owner Carry forex g2s two-fold. Hello Justin Thanks for the article. Grateful if you can advise how did you manage budget on purchases on CGS? Did you manage weekly or monthly? Did buy deals or bottles on spirits liquors? Beers understand deals would make more sense considering lower cost of beer vs spirit liquors. Overbuying can hurt your PL. I own a liquor store in NJ for approx 10 years and find it very challenging in managing the CGS purchases weekly.

JN, We tried to manage weekly. It was a huge challenge to work from home nurse jobs louisiana demand or stay within budget. We overestimated December sales demand and it nearly killed us. The best solution is to have tons of cash so you can fully stock your shelves and patiently wait for sales to roll in.

But, of course, having tons of cash is a good solution to many problems. Thanks for the comment! I am considering buying a place in MA. The details I have so are as follows. They did k last year. The rental is lease per month but its a NNN- taxes are about 6k, no idea about insurance for the building or the business.

The lease has 4 more years and has 2 5yr options to renew. My first thought is its way to expensive and should be around k. How much profit do you think I could make on this deal?

Should I Buy a Liquor Store? | Buying or Starting a Business?

I would have to finance k or so with the owner, assuming he would do it. I would then be able to scrounge up enough left to stock the store 70k if I drained some accounts. I would caution you not to drain all your bank accounts in order to purchase and stock eminem how to make money selling drugs store.

Its a solid location but is currently the 2nd best liquor store in town, another does much better business by the looks of things, and a 3rd may actually do more business as well being in a little strip mall on the way into town. My spot is on the other end of town on the way in from the other side. There is upside growth, the owner is older,he does not do any type of advertising at all.

He does not have a web-site of course…If I did it, I would want to do wine tastings, he never does them…I would also like to add a larger selection of cigs, cheese, crackers- I would look at things like total ice sales. If they were decent but not hugely profitable because he does not I would also buy an ice machine to make my own ice, not sure he has that.

It appears as though the place is under agreement again I spoke with the owner at length today. He signed an offer the other day for k and would not take a penny less he says. No owner financing available. It would be easy to check that based on purchases if deal fell thru IF I was interested and I am not.

The place had a ton of storage upstairs and down but only about sq feet of sales space. He only has 2 part time workers for a total of 20 hours combined…he works the place by himself basically.

The K includes wk lottery sales- profits on that are roughly in mass. So alcohol sales are really only about k or so I am guessing. Whats the value of this place? Hi Mike, How do they explain the drop in revenue? Rent sounds pretty steep, too. Who owns the building? A third party or current operators? Sorry they hit the flood last year in May. And they depends on somewhat on Texas state students.

Building own by a company in Dallas they always renew every 5 years as last 25 years. I have a quick question for you.

You seem like you guys are doing really well over there. Do you chalk your success up solely to location, selection, and customer service? Are there any marketing strategies that you find vital to your stores success? Any information would help, and I appreciate your time! The person who bought the business seems to be doing well. Sales have gone up consistently year over year. They are showing a GP of K and Net profit of 51, They are currently asking k for the business and an additional 50k for inventory.

Any advice you could provide would be wonderful. The price tag sounds pretty reasonable actually. Kind of makes me wonder why are they selling. Is something too good to be true? Be careful to structure the contract so you can still walk away with your earnest money if you find something fishy. Jacksonville Business For Sale: Hi Charlie, If you mean start from scratch with new location and inventory and equipment, the answer is no.

Even then you will be vulnerable to cash flow volatility. I would try to pad your account a little further before jumping in. Hopefully it goes without saying that these are total guesstimates on my part.

My name is Rene I am trying to open a liquor store do you have any advice that could help with persuading city council on why is a good idea to let this kind of business open and maybe what kind of evidence would be needed if I get to the public hearing any information would be helpful.

Other factors would depend on the city, the neighborhood, nearest competition and a variety of other factors. Wish I could be more helpful. Justin First off thank you for all the advice you are giving out for free on this blog.

I am in the process of buying a Liquor store. I could put down more but I want to reserve some cash for things that might come up while running the business. Here is my problem the bank does not want to lend money on this business.

So do you have any ideas on other forms of financing that you could share with us? I am not sure where to go from here. You could offer to pay a higher than average interest rate along with an option to cash out after a few years, maybe 5 years to give you time to build a bit of a war chest.

Hi Justin, Firstly, Thanks for all the advises that you have been giving to help people understand this liquor business. You are an awesome person. Just like all others, I also need some advice on buying a liquor store. I am currently looking for a store that has gross sales of 1. Asking price is k and k inventory. It has an owner operator cash flow of k. How should i go about this deal? Do you think it will be a good business for me? I am actually a first time liquor store buyer. I would be really grateful if you can give me some guidance about this.

This sounds like a pretty high-speed liquor store for your first venture. Would you be doing this alone? You might want to start smaller. My only suggestion would be to focus more on making your customers happy and less on moving product from your preferred supplier, even if said supplier is your brother. Can you email me your phone? I have several questions to ask in regards to potentially opening up a liquor store!

Hi Taylor, You can send questions via email by using my contact form below. I prefer not to give out my phone number. I am involved in a startup that wants to get a product drinking game into a distribution network for liquor stores.

My question is, how do you supply your store with product other than alcohol? Do you purchase everything through a distributor? Hi Kipp, All alcohol must be purchased through a distributor. Distributors will push their new products, definitely. For something like a board or card game it would be challenging. I doubt a distributor would be interested…but you never know.

Perhaps you could get sponsored by a big distributor? They like to give away swag and other promotional items. Thanks for all the advises that you have been giving to help people. It is really good location in front of collage dorm and its close to my house.

Hi Tony, See if you find any information on comparable sales in your area. Is the owner willing to carry or are you paying cash? Grossa month, 61 year old business and building grandfathered inwith fuel and tobacco. What is your estimated value of the real estate? Hello attempting to see if asking price is too far out. I know with or without inventory. Maybe there are special considerations that make it a good deal but, for me, the price is way too high.

We own the shop an property an are on the main corner of a k county. That is a main thru way to one of tn largest vacation areas. The county has set regulation that there can only be 6 liquor stores. I have the opportunity to be one. An at this time we are planning to in large the building size from sq ft to sq ft.

The tn laws I have read states the liquor sales an storage can only be on the bottom floor. I own an opperate a business that will be moved to the second floor an will generate the residual to cover all business exspences. How did you get that covered? I have owned an operated 6 businesses. Do you see any set backs to this area of sales? Local Moon shine also? I bought insurance to cover the building and I paid extra to insure lost business revenue if something bad happened that would force us to close our doors.

Because alcohol is heavily regulated in most states you have to wade through plenty of bureaucracy. Just part of the deal if you want to be in the liquor business. Local brewer or distiller promotions tastings, etc are generally good for business as long as everyone is following all state and local regulations.

Hi Justin and everyone else for all this excellent information. I live in Los Angeles, I work in a bank as a teller for years and finally saved up some money to buy my own business as I get old. A friend suggested a Liquor store that is in business for the past 10 years.

There is a CVS and 2 other liquor stores about blocks away and there is another supermarket coming up in the next 10 days to the south. I am very confused to go for it or not. Where do I learn more about the types of Beer, Wines and Liquor? Asking price is k with k in inventory. They say cash flow is around I plan to run this passively and hopefully pay myself k per year. Your thoughts on the deal? Am I over paying? Thank you in advance for your feedback. Hi CM, Actually, I think the asking price is fair.

Maybe even low which is concerning. The seller may be terrified of the ballot measure likely coming up for vote in November that, if passed, would allow grocers to carry full strength beer and wine. Is the store near a big grocery store? You should probably look into the ballot measure and bring it up with the owner.

Even then, there will be fire drills requiring your presence. Inventory and cash flow will be a challenge. Asking k Owner finance with k down Sales are k Cash flow is k Smaller store with 80k in inventory. About This Liquor Store — Excellent Location Business For Sale — San Jose — Bay Area:. Hi Ned, It sounds like a good money maker but, for me, the asking price is too high.

Liquor store ownership works best as an owner-operator set-up. Front of store Licenses: But, who knows, maybe the market is different in California and these are bargain prices. Does that sound to good to be true? They gave me father is sick 2 stores story. Sales are shady only 6 month of excel type documents. No debt on the company.

Around 40k a month give or take a few. But this is on an excel doc not taxes. Hi Justin, I recently bought a liquor store and wondering if there is a recommended POS for liquor stores. I did some research and seems like square POS is capable of inventory management and will alert if you are running low on inventory.

And square also save emails for customers and we can send them marketing emails as well along with promotional offers etc. We ended up using a Mac-based program called LightSpeed. It was pretty good but reporting was completely inadequate. I would keep going with the Square system until you run into a major problem. I am a student at Ohio University and we are creating a Business Concept for an alcoholic beverage store. It would be awesome if I could ask you a few questions and just take up a little bit of your time.

If you could shoot me an email I would love to throw a couple questions at you. We me and my husband are trying to partner up with my sister to buy a liquor store and we are trying to put an expense sheet together and just wonder if you can help me with the payroll questions. What is the overall average payroll expenses percentage per gross sales for a 2mil gross sales?

How much does a store manager make? My sister will be just investing, she will help out during holidays or few weekends but my husband and me will be the one managing the store and work at the store. Figure less in yearsmaybe more in years if volume is steady or increasing. Hello Justin, I stumbled upon this blog and thanks so much for all the gracious advise you are giving out!

My husband and I own a micro-distillery in Oregon. At a glance it appears the regulation structure is relatively similar to Colorado. Judging by the Ducks hat you can probably confirm that.

We have a national distributor but a this point, for now, our home state is left to us. This may change in the future but we enjoy getting out and introducing folks to our products which we are, of course, very passionate about.

So far, this has mostly consisted of having a tasting booth at various events across the state. My question to you as a liquor store owner, is do you have any advice for us as we begin the process of contacting individual liquor stores here in Oregon to discuss our products and offer our time to come and provide some tastings to their patrons?

Is there sort of a standard way most distillery owners do this? Are there currently any good passive ownership businesses in Pueblo? Perhaps a carwash or Laundromat? Do you have some websites you could recommend I look at for opportunities in Pueblo or Southern Colorado.

Hi Jay, you can check for business listings on BizBuySell. The best opportunity for a passive ownership business, in my opinion, is real estate. Rental houses, apartment buildings, commercial buildings, etc. Does liquor store owners get together: Justin — Thank you! So, I would ask you the following. How would you evaluate the following business. Hi Justin thank you for the load of info. Yes, I think the high-end of the ratio is the right starting point.

People shopping for wine are likely to make convenience purchases of standard beer and liquor offerings from time to time.

Might as well accommodate them with a limited inventory. It also creates value for some liquor store owners in what would otherwise become vulnerable locations e. I think it will work out okay. The new legislation has minimal impact on me because I sold the liquor business a while back and my only connection is via real estate. First i want to thanks for all your info and caring about people.

Hi Terry, Good question. My wife and me work in Houston and would like to move to Denver Area as we are almost done with the Texas heat after living here for 10 years: My wife would be quitting her job to run this startup full time and I would be able to help on the weekends as well. We have over k cash that we would like to turn into a 90k net a year. Can you please advise on which areas we should be narrowing down to-Boulder,Golden,Lakewood,Westminister are the first ones that come to our mind but we are open for suggestions.

Hi Mac, I think the areas you listed are all good prospects in terms of high growth areas. I think you might want to include Colorado Springs. Denver housing prices and traffic have gotten a bit out of hand and I think Colorado Springs and Pueblo will benefit long term if Denver continues to morph into LA. Hi Eve — congratulations! No easy feat creating a million dollar business from scratch. I see a lot of liquor stores for sale advertised on BizBuySell.

You could also advertise with a local realtor and list the business for sale. Do you own the real estate as well? Hi Dee, Great idea. Hi Justin, I posted on your blog few mins ago. Just checking to see if I can post this message or not. Hi Justin, Your blog and posts are extremely valuable.

Excellent work and thank YOU. Here is my situation if you can PLEASE advise and shed some insight. The area is all black community. Avg salary is low as per city data.

The current owner is running this for 22 years and the business is 40 years old. Looks like an exciting opportunity! What sort of guidance? Just wanting to know if the price is fair?

Anything in particular I have notes from this blog already to look into this property and business? I would start by getting a local realtor to do a market analysis on the real estate. Maybe New Jersey has different regulations that make the license worth more. I have no idea how to value the check cashing business. I would ask for a breakdown of the various components so you can understand their math and negotiate with a more complete understanding of each piece of the puzzle.

Project Lonestar Wrap-up and the Accidental Liquor Store Geographical Perspectives. Thank you for your story. When you are the face of the business it holds you to a higher sense of responsibility. Richard Benchimol Leads Indeed http: In the state of Ga, is it legal for a distributor to make you purchase one item, in order to have the option to purchase another item?

Where I live just went wet. We were the largest dry city in the state. The store on the city limits does k per month in beer, liquor, snack foods. My question is a first to market a good approach here?

THE WINE, BEER AND LIQUOR BUSINESS. We have narrowed our choice of industry to just 2 or 3, with liquor stores being one of them we live in Washington, DC. Your article is very informative. Does this sound about right? As we look at stores, the claims of net profit seem to be highly exaggerated if this is the case. Hi Phil, Could you share your sources? This could be higher if the value of the license is worth more than it would be here in Colorado. Same if a store does a larger share of liquor or wine instead of beer.

Not sure about the 1. Too much depends on the operator. I think gross revenue is the most important figure. Revenue trend over the past years is important too. That said, at the end of the day, you have to use some business savvy and street smarts to assess the opportunity. Every deal involves risk. As for the valuation assumption, I looked at two sources: Multiply your total by 45 percent. Add the value of your inventory and equipment to the total. The net profit number came from a SageWorks industry survey in Forbes from We have actually focused our search on listings with seller financing.

Hi Justin- I am looking for your advice on a startup liquor,wine, beer store. Specifically looking on how to forecast total revenue, cashflow and minimum revenue to cover expenses. Estimated Expenses aboutStore is near a cross-road, which is going to be a 4-lane road from 2-lane road. Hi DS, Not possible for me to come up with revenue given this info. Too many critical variables. My guess is it would be pretty meager in year 1 but improve from there.

And there will always be tension between what you can make and how many hours you want to work behind the counter. Sorry I can provide more specific info. Justin was messing around the net and saw your blog. Great stuff and advice you have been sharing the last few years. I wanted to add the most famous slogan of all is till true Location, Location, Location! Publix which is still family owned has entered the liquor business as well but are selective with their locations and do not build near churches or schools.

This has allowed Independents like myself to fill a void and be connected to a great anchor. It is located on a major connecting road between I and the Florida Turnpike next to a McDonalds so once again Location is the name of the game. Last thing along with location is competition you have to do thorough research on current and more importantly future competitors who could open near you.

Owner-operator is the only way to truly make money in this business unless you have a superstore which is only possible in certain states for Independents. Other simple things I can suggest are a quality POS system which you MUST utilize for inventory and shrink and have a strong cash control policies in place!

Also develop a rapport with your distributors. I worked for 22 years for a liquor wholesaler which is how I know to handle them as the retailer. Be tight with your money unless you have to fight a Big Box then pick and choose what brands to battle with. Greg, Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience!

I am certainly also a believer in the location, location, location mantra. Do you have any specific suggestions for dealing with distributors? How can owners without your experience avoid bad deals?

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. My husband and I are planning to open a liquor business in Maryland. We just know the very basic brands. Should we hire someone with indepth knowledge about alcohol? We have a small saving of about 75K cash flow, should we invest in this business venture? Please give us your advice.

My suggestion would be for one or both of you to get a job, even part-time, as a clerk in a liquor store. This will help you learn more about the business while earning a few bucks along the way. Thank you so much for all of your valuable information. My father and I are very interested in purchasing an existing liquor store.

No Real Estate included. However, this depletes both of our savings, and we are looking for stable income for us both, especially as he rounds up on retirement out of the concrete industry.

What is the best way for me to analyze this deal? I have a goal of approx: I would also insist on paying the inventory cost, not any arbitrary assigned value. You need to be able to ride through ups and downs while you learn the ropes. Instead of going through the SBA you might instead make your offer subject to owner financing.

I am myself thinking through investing in a liquor store that will be operated by a couple of friends. This is based in a KCMO suburb. They want me to be involved from an investor perspective to provide cash for initial inventory. I do not have to be associated with day to day operations. This is perfect as I can continue my day job and life. I feel this deal is not doing any justice to my ROI. I would ask to see 5 years of revenue history.

Often real estate would be held separately in an LLC and the business itself would be an S-corp. You should ask them to clarify how the business ownership and real estate ownership will be structured.

Hi Justin, I bought a liquor store in Georgia almost two years ago. It was in distress. I have had to continue to put money in the store. The inventory has grown considerably. Which bottles sell better on what shelf, what brands in the front of store? Hi Tod, Congrats on your purchase and sales growth!

Maybe talk with your wine distributors and ask them to run some tasting events in your store. Capture visitor emails and promote wine offerings that way? Your store trade area may not support big wine sales so you may have better luck focusing and expanding on the categories already selling.

Thanks for all of the information in this thread. Located in a strip mall with no competition within 2 miles of radius. I was able to confirm with the local distributor who services the account that it is the largest in the area. The broker told me the seller will not pay the individual brokers commission on inventory so he is asking me to bake that into the offer. Also a sperate price evaluation analysis deck…on why this business is worth the price was given.

This I found very confused. I have not even submitted the offer or even tried to negotiate. Type what you see. A spatial kind of place. Home Geography Pueblo Teaching Jobs About Aftermarket Analytics. The 3 Lessons I Learned After Accidentally Buying a Liquor Store February 18, at Coloradoretail liquor.

Hi Justin, Are you feeling any impact from big box stores? Hi Lora, Nice to hear my article resonates in NJ. Hi Justin, Very good information and clearly explained. Good job, thank you. Hi Cesar, I know your post is a couple years old now but, I have been looking in the South Fla area as well for a liquor store. Hi Justin, How small of a store is Mesa Junction?

Cody in which state were you located? Hi Justin, a couple questions. I am trying to buy a liquor store in Memphis, TN. I need your help! Thanks please call me anytime.

Any ideas on how to promote a new liquor store that been opened for 2 months in Houston, Texas.