Ann Arbor Party Center

I used to shop here, until I realized that the guy behind the counter had very few customer service skills. He seemed to feel it necessary to judge paying customers on what kind of whiskey they drink. He literally laughed when I asked for a fifth of Old Crow.
Though, one might take such criticism lightly. The same cashier said to me, «I drink bourbon, not whiskey.» Verbatim. Which, if you know anything about whiskey (as someone who spends time standing in front of a wall full of it should), is kind of an odd thing to say.
Generally, the selection is extensive and the pricing is decent. But there are better places in Ann Arbor where you don’t have to worry about being treated like an asshole.

For me this is the perfect neighborhood party store, excellent slection of product, terrific pricing (they take good care of their customers), and, most importantly, Tony and Joe (the owners) are remarkably good people. No … Tony and Joe are better than that … they take care of you as a customer just like family, remarkably easy to talk with, impart quality advice and offer really, really good deals. People talk going to Chicago to get great pricing … go the Ann Arbor Party Center and they will knock your socks off. I am not family … I do hope they consider me a freind … you’ll be happy.

Not sure how others have had a positive experience here as I had the worst customer service from the 2 guys behind the counter. I will avoid this place at all costs. I saw online that they carry a hard to find liquor and when I asked about how to get a bottle I was told that I need to «be his customer» and only buy this type of liquor from him. Give me a break, I won’t even buy a Coke from this guy. Ever. If you’ve ever thought of trying this place, don’t.

Great selection of beer and wine. if a particular rare liquor is not in stock, they will special order it for you at no extra charge. Only here you can find Amaro Montenegro and Fireball Cinnamon whiskey. The staff is super friendly and helpful

I just bought a house in the neighborhood and moseyed over to the Ann Arbor Party Center to check it out out of curiosity. Walked out SO SO excited to find this in my new hood!
Walking distance is an amazing selection of beer (craft, Michigan, and more), wine, and liquor – perfect for a party run if need be! I was psyched to pick up a 4 pack of Saugatuck Brewing Co’s Neapolitan Stout, in particular! The other cool thing is a fairly decent grocery selection – for a party store anyway. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything so I was pleasantly surprised to see basic pantry staples (like flour, sugar, etc), loads of pop and juice options, a crap ton of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream (SCORE!), chips and other salty snacks, spices, milk and cheese, they even tout a pretty tasty looking German potato salad (have not tried it yet). I wouldn’t do my grocery shopping here but it’s good to know there’s all the stuff here if I’m in a pinch! For example – I haven’t officially moved in yet so I have no plates or cups or anything at the house so picked up some paper plates and plastic silverware for pizza runs while I’m cleaning and still spiffing up the place prior to moving day. Pretty dope (although I will admit that their decorative napkin selection is about 15 years old it seems!).
I’ve been a couple of times now and the clerk has been super nice both times. I forsee myself becoming a regular here, for sure. I will share my potato salad thoughts once I have some. And have some I will. Don’t you worry!

Nice employees, decent selection of beer and liquor. It’s endearing how proud they are of their German potato salad.
The grocery items are generally marked up (expected), but the goat cheese is surprisingly cheap
[07/​15/​2012] This place saved me (and all the food in my fridge) during the recent power outage. Whereas Kroger was out of stock of ice, this store had plenty for a good price.
Still need to try that German potato salad…

What a great beverage store! I totally wish I lived in the neighborhood of this place. They have a great wine selection and liquor selection. Actually, I called this place because I was looking for some very exquisite and hard to find bourbon for my husband and this place had it! But I would not have been able to get it had the cashier not reserved it for me. He was nice enough to set it aside for me until I could come in to pick it up. He was incredibly friendly and informative we were happy to give him our business. We were even able to pick up 2 other bottles of hard to find bourbon. This place is da bomb!

Man, I just have a love affair with party stores in Ann Arbor! I think they make a habit of employing really nice, really personable folks. In any event, Ann Arbor Party Center is no exception! I believe there’s some sort of familial and/​or business connection with this place and my sentimental favorite, Summit Street Party Store. I see the same guys at both places and they are always super nice and fun to banter with.
In my fairly uneducated opinion, the Party Center has a nice wine selection (they carry one of my favorite cote du rhones) and the liquor selection is also adequate. For some reason I feel like their snack section is lacking somehow, but I guess that’s why I’ve usually made my Meijer trip beforehand and I’m hitting this place on my way back home.
So, if you’re driving by and you’re thirsty, I say stop on in!

The West Side of Ann Arbor has a liquor problem. Well, a liquor store problem anyway. There’s a couple sketchy places out on Stadium and Maple. There’s the Wine Castle, which does the trick in a pinch. But if you’re all the way out there, why not just go to Plum Market or Arbor Farms or even Kroger for beer?
That brings us to A2 Party Center. When I moved to the Virginia Park area two years ago, I was distressed that there wasn’t a liquor store within close walking distance from my new place. Little did I realize, this place (nestled in the split-​off of Jackson and Dexter), was only a few blocks behind me. Oh, what a glorious day it was when I made that discovery! I mean, I knew it was there, I just didn’t realize that I had to go behind my new ‘hood to get there on foot in under 10 minutes. I vaguely remember coming here once many moons ago – it used to be a lot bigger with more grocery items, but I could be wrong?
I go here regularly now, and prefer it to any other West Side liquor store. They’ve recently revamped it and it looks a little classier, with a nice wine section. The guys at the counter are always nice, always card me, and always say «Whoa, you can’t be 30!» Yes, they know how to get repeat customers. There’s also usually a basket of really cheap sale shot bottles on the counter too. The beer is about as slightly overpriced as it is at any other A2 liquor store, but they have a decent selection. I do love that the wheat beers have a rack of lemons and oranges connected to the fridge door. They’re not always the freshest fruits, but I love that the owners understand that sometimes you just gotta have an orange and you don’t want to make an extra trip to the grocery store. Speaking of groceries, the snacks and other items here are way too costly, but they do have a decent chip selection.
My biggest beef with this place is that it closes way too early. But all of the liquor stores in this neighborhood close before midnight, so I can’t fault it too much for that.
Otherwise, it gets 4 stars simply because it’s the best liquor store on the West Side.