Salt Lake Wines & Spirits

I’m a big fan of supporting local when I can. I would prefer to shop at a small business. Maybe because I have many small business owners in my family or maybe it’s because I love seeing friendly faces. When I go in bigger stores say Walgreens or Target, you don’t get that personal interaction with who is assisting you. Often those bigger chain places are trying to spit out as many customers as they can get. That isn’t the case here. We came in just to grab beer and see what they had. It’s a very small location in the Salt Lake Shopping Center. There was plenty of parking. Very friendly person there to help. I was definitely glad I stopped in and will continue to do so when I’m in the Salt Lake area.

I wouldn’t say a hole in the wall, but definitely can be missed if you weren’t looking for it.
With the plethora of specialty liquor and wine shops I have been discovering recently, this mom and pop retail liquor store feels like it’s just that. It’s a small store, smaller than a typical 7-​Eleven! Like a crowded book store, this place has a sampling of most, if not all, most of the important wines, spirits, and beer that’s the popular ones that everyone knows about. The pinot noirs, to the cabernets, to the fine assortment of beers in their in-​house refrigerators located in the back, Salt Lake Wines and Spirits seems to have their investments well in hand. The ambiance reminded me that I was shopping in Chinatown somewhere, especially with the close knit quarters. It’s the company you keep, as they say, and this place has a certain charismatic feel to it. It’s almost like stepping into someone’s bedroom and seeing all this wine bottles, as if it’s like someone’s private collection stash. The set up was nice and I could walk through and see what I needed. The staff was friendly and answered some questions I had about the wines they were carrying. Sometimes, the «I don’t know» answer was honest and acceptable.
Yes, the store itself is quite small, but you get that personal touch, where the Safeway’s and Long’s Drugs stores, which carry liquor as well, doesn’t usually offer. While going to a specialty liquor store such as Tamura’s would be more palatable, but such an alternative like the Salt Lake Wine and Spirits can be a valuable gem, if you were in the area and needed wine or beer to keep you happy. The Salt Lake Wine and Spirits is located within the cozy confines of the Salt Lake Shopping Center, which has plenty of parking. Depending on whether or not you get there during peak hours, you can get a prime parking spot closest to the mall. If you are like me, The Bus route #3 runs from downtown Honolulu and east Oahu @ Kapiolani Community College and arrives near the Salt Lake Shopping Center. Too far to travel for booze, I’m sure, but just saying if you were in the area, and needed to travel by bus to do so, it’s an option for y’all who need it — if you weren’t driving that day.
The prices here are reasonable. Not too pricey, but there is a good deal to be had. I did find some moonshine here, which made me smile. I had been in West Virginia in 2013, and they were big on moonshine out there. While I made a mental note to buy it sometime in the future, I picked up a couple of bottles of pinot noir and cabernet (1 each) to kick off my 35^th year on this earth. My saving grace on this place was that they accept credit cards. Had it been cash only, I would have really surprised, since it would have been a wicked challenge to pull that off, especially with the amount of traffic devoted to just selling liquor. So, that’s great that they do accept credit cards — Visa and Master card accepted, although I didn’t ask about American Express. Maybe they do. For now, the experience was decent and positive. It’s a small mom and pop operation, which is refreshing to see when you can go to other places and get the same product for the same range of price. Shop here and you’ll experience the difference.
While the selection may be limited, supporting local is where it’s at.
Support local!
B+

I went to high school down the street from this place and I still remember glancing longingly through the doors because if you were under 18 you were not allowed in the store!
Well now that I am of legal drinking age I take advantage of that fact by stopping in and picking up a drink (or 12) for parties, bbq’s, and tuesday nights!
Sometimes there a slight language barrier with the staff BUT alcohol is really a universal language so don’t trip and just pay the lovely people and be on your merry way!
ps. you might want to pick up a bottle of moonshine while you’re here. No seriously they carry flavored moonshine & it’s delicious. BUT make plans to have a DD or stay at your host’s house for the night because the stuff is STRONG!

Since I’m a Safeway Club member, I initially didn’t see the point of going here to buy alcohol since Safeway has discounts for members and their liquor aisle has plenty of selection. But if you just want to grab some booze and move along, you’re better off going to this store as, to paraphrase Boromir, «One does not simply walk in and out of the Salt Lake Safeway»
Their beer and wine selections are decent, and prices are reasonable. The women who cashier the place are efficient and friendly enough. They even gave me a free t-​shirt one time.
You must buy at least $ 10 worth of product to use a credit card; under that amount is cash only.
Also, the layout of the place is a rectangle single-​file walkway with product on the walls and in the middle. Apparently you need to move clockwise around the store, and if you pass something you wanted to buy, don’t disrupt the flow… just circle back around. I went counter-​clockwise once and got a dirty look from a couple of the customers. Of course, maybe they just disapproved of my choice of beer… but, play it safe.

They have a pretty good variety of wines, beer, and liquor. If you live in the Salt Lake area, it’s fairly convenient and my favorite part… They sell bags of ice!!! Prices might be a little lower at Safeway or Longs, but I think the variety of alcohol makes it worth the extra dollar or two.

This is a Salt Lake landmark. I remember in the 90’s standing in front of the store asking adults to buy me cigarettes and/​or booze. There is a good variety of ghetto ass drinks such as Boone’s or Colt 45. There also is a decent variety of beers– both imports and domestics as well as liquor (from peppermint schnapps to Jack)
Other than booze, you can get snacks and your typical knickknacks available at a liquor store.
Unilocal 31 Day Challenge #24/​31
Boones & cigs

Papa and mama sun type store! My boyfriend loves this place only because he loves to drink.(buuu) heheh, as for me, I’ve been to better places. but I must say its very cheap and affordable, but limited to their wine selection. Customer service, ah… its very hard to understand the clerk due to her thick accent. Its a place to just get in and get out! Happy shopping… I think… @-_-@…

If you reside in the Salt Lake area, and you’re looking for 4 Locos, this is the store to be.

Pretty good prices, at least for what I’ve gone there for, but I would hesitate to patronize them again. I went to buy something there and when I went to ring out the cashier told me it wasn’t labeled correctly. She went and got me a bottle with a different price and told me her son made a mistake. I explained that she should give it to me for the price displayed on it and she said «No-​no-​no-​no-​no». I had two other items I was checking out with and I told her that was bad business and she said «OK» and let me walk out. You lose MAJOR points on a call like that. They may have decent prices but they soured my opinion of them.

This is a nice hole in the wall. Staff is friendly and remembers a face. Many times this store has better prices than Safeway and Longs in the area, but the selection is limited in some ways.
If you catch them on a sale you’re going to get even better deals.

Nice hole in the wall that carries a decent selection of beer. Wine selection is elementary, however a few surprising bottles were present. Nice enough staff if you break the ice first. Prices most reasonable & better than nearby Safeway.