Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
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www.beveragedynamics.com Chuck Carlson, GM of Mulberry Max in Fort Collins. LONG HISTORY OF INDEPENDENT STORES Chuck Carlson owns Mulberry Max in Fort Collins, Colorado, which opened in May 2015. Carlson had exited a de- cade-long role he had in another nearby store to start Mulberry Max, which boasts 10,000 square feet and about 5,000 SKUs. Carlson had previously worked in the information technology industry and says he simply found the idea of running a liquor store more fun. But he also knew important changes were coming from the state Capitol that could affect Mulberry. "I wanted a store that was defensible against grocery stores and convenience stores for beer, wine and spirits," he says. "We de-emphasized domestic pre- mium products like Coors, and instead are into high-end craft beers, bomb- er-size bottles and 750-ml. craft brews from all over the country." Carlson runs promotions with local brewers New Belgium and Odell. For Mulberry's second anniversary, Odell took beers out of its library that it had been saving. "Some weren't even sold here at the moment," Carlson says. "They also help us with prizes, like a $300 Griz- zly cooler with a New Belgium logo." Carlson says his demographic area is skewed toward premium products, and while he does get CSU students, faculty and staff in this store, the bulk comes from older people who live nearby. Wilbur's Dinsmore grew up in the in- dustry and is a fi fth-generation resident of Loveland, which is about 30 minutes south of Fort Collins. His father, Dennis, is celebrating 50 years in the industry this year, having started a couple other liquor stores before purchasing what became Wilbur's about 15 years ago. The store is 25,000 square feet with 12,000 SKUs. Dinsmore credits the nearby univer- sity with helping him fi ll more than 40 employee positions at Wilbur's. "We have been so blessed because we have Colorado State University," Dinsmore says. "It's a talent pool that refi lls every semester. You're never rebuilding, you're reloading." In 2004, Dinsmore's father started jockeying for space next to a new Whole Foods and ended up doubling the store's square footage. In 2015, Dinsmore's father retired—but it only lasted six months before he opened a Wyatt's next to the new Whole Foods in Longmont. Dins- more says he's not looking to expand Wilbur's at the mo- ment, mainly due to the uncertainty surrounding the new laws. " To e x p a n d for the sake of ex- panding doesn't make sense," he says. "We need to look at things and base them on their own merit with the change in landscape coming." Hazel's Beverage World in Boulder has been open fi ve years, but owner Jimmy Dean has been in the liquor and grocery business for 50 years. He's been exclusively in liquor for the last 19, he says, but he and his son still own a grocery store. Hazel's has 50 employees—48 full time and two part-time. Despite the proximity of the University of Colorado–Boulder, which had almost 33,000 students in 2015, Dean doesn't hire many students because he says they want to go home for the holidays—his busiest times. July/August2017• Beverage Dynamics 23