Washington State Liquor Store

Friendly people, pretty good stock, best in the area and open on Sunday. A smidgen pricey, but I think the openness and market-​like-​feel suit my shopping tastes well. I don’t think I’ll go anywhere else (except maybe random booze from Trader Joe’s /​Safeway) and definitely not back to the old style liquor stores with crowded little shelves and poorly preserved bottles.

I have to go out of my way to go to this store, but they are the only ones who carry a liquor that I love (real French Cassis) and they have amongst the largest selection in town. Also, whenever it’s time to vote on the Costco-​backed ballot initiative to allow grocery stores to carry hard liquor they have given me an un-​biased and thoughtful reasons to vote against allowing 7 – 11 and Costco to carry booze: it will take away approximately 40% of the liquor available to buy in WA state… and I’ll be hard-​pressed to find my cassis and scotch and bourbon drinkers will not have the selection they are accustomed to (not that I’m into that… but I am into having a large selection). Plus, they are smart and they know their liquor!

Love having a liquor store so close.

Definitely one of the better liquor stores in Seattle. It’s a bit «out of the way» from town, but if you live in Ballard it’s the perfect spot. This is a newer location so it’s still pretty clean and I’ve never had issues with stock or customer service here. The only «negative» to this location is their parking lot, which kind of sucks. It’s really hard to get in and out of if it’s during a busy time of day/​night.

:sigh: being from TX, the liquor stores here in WA state are very different.
in TX, the liquor stores are HUGE with a large selection, and the only downside is that they are closed on Sunday. but here in WA state, the stores are small and take a guess at what the hours are /​days they are open! I recently went in to purchase vodka, and wanted to go ahead and get club soda… I was shocked to hear that in WA, the liquor stores cannot sale anything but liquor WTF?!?
luckily, I am more of a beer drinker so I do not have to go into a WA liquor store too often :-/

Minor-​ish beef: This store is HUGE, and yet instead of having a buttload of unusual liquors in addition to the very respectable selection of standards, there is always a gigantic display of bad wine in jugs and boxes. Come on, WSCLB! I love me some liquor, and this store is literally one block from my house. I would spend a truly staggering amount of money here if only you’d beef up your selection.

This is definitely the best liquor store in the area.
+ It has a nice, large parking lot with lots of spaces
+ The staff is super friendly and always cheerful
+ The interior is clean, well-​lit, and welcoming
+ There are lots of airport sized bottles to choose from, making it easy to grab something new to try
+ It’s open on Sundays!
+ It’s also a two minute walk from my apartment. Score!

I will keep this short and simple; Rudeness has no place in business. My experience was that I asked one of the staff if they «have olive juice for martinis?» He didn’t even have a chance to respond… another blond lady who was stacking bottles 8 feet away said, «if it don’t have liquor in it, we don’t sell it. We are a liquor store.» I guess if I was by myself, I would not have been so shocked but she said it so loud as to embarrass me. When did it become acceptible to be rude to your customers?
As I was waiting in line, I saw another customer approach her and ask her something. She «barked» out, «can’t do walk throughs today! Don’t you see how busy we are?!» I was shocked as I was thinking about her approach to business… it’s more important to stock the shelves than take care of a cusotmer. And, as far as it being busy? It’s was New Year’s Eve, but there were 15 people in the store and most were in one of the two check out lines.
My suggestion is to go somewhere else where someone actually wants your business. Clearly whomever runs this store, cares less about the customers.
To wrap it up, I dropped $ 100+ at the register and the checkout lady didn’t even thank me for the business. At that point, I decided I would never return and would steer my friends away from this place in my neighborhood.
OK, that wasn’t short but I am getting soooo tired of bad business etiquette and the loss of customer service in our country… and most particularly, in this establishment. I have met nicer people in the Department of Motor Vehicles than here. I guess this explains why government shouldn’t be involved in business.

I love this liquor store, and not just because I love vodka.
The two ladies who cashier are always friendly and talkative to me. It’s clean and well lit. It’s open until 9 on weekdays and open on Sunday!
All of which make it a happy place, unlike the creepy aura of most liquor stores which makes me feel a little dirty.

despite the craptastical fact that WA state has lame state-​run liquor stores, this one is pretty nice… clean…shiney.well-lit…a straight shot down the hill from my house. open sundays… and close to a 7 – 11 where i can buy some mixers. I cant complain. Way better than the crusty one off of 15^th ave NW. however why does going to the liquor store always make me feel like an alcoholic, or like I am shopping for porno or something?

this store is clean, and well-​lit. the staff is friendly, and they always have what i need. thanks liquor store that is closer to my work!

Impressive outside, the inside is the same as all the other liquor stores. They do have a quite impressive selection of Aquavit and other Scandinavian spirits. Except they were missing the famous Linie brand of Norwegian aquavit.
Kinda nice, they have the airport sized bottles in plain reach, so you don’t have to have the cashier grab them for you. Nothing particularly special about this store, except that being open on a Sunday is awesome.

Look, I don’t buy liquor. I just don’t like it. I drink a lot of beer and wine but, on a rare occasion, I have gone to this place because it is close to my home. It is like an alcohol wonderland. Its not just that it sells liquor. The patrons are drunk, the clerks are drunk, the folks selling Real Change out front are drunk… you get the picture. I have laughed a lot (and been sad once or twice) but always entertained going here.
The store itself is nothing special — it sells mainline liquor but nothing that is not a major brand.

This is the closest store to my current home and I couldn’t be happier about it. The hours are fantastic. It’s clean, well lit and has a great inventory (although they need to order more Chamucos!). The only reason I won’t give it four stars is that it still exists, which isn’t really their fault.
Why in the world do we have state run liquor stores? If it’s just to keep those folks employed that might be the worst excuse ever. If it’s to control liquor consumption that’s moronic. As far as I can tell the state liquor stores make it inconvenient to acquire liquor, which in turn reduces the total amount sold, which means FEWER TAX DOLLARS! Why is that formula so hard to grasp? Sell liquor everywhere and the quantity sold goes up along with the associated tax dollars. Biggest pet peeve ever is government trying to make sure I don’t hurt myself. Boo! We want liquor give it to us where ever and whenever we want it.

WOW! Its like Frank Lloyd Wright designed this store! Its all glass and steel beams. I’m I still in Washington state? Where is the drab white exterior and the dirty parking lot?
Then I enter the store and my hopes and dreams of a flashy interior disintegrate like so much salt on the rim of a margarita glass. Its the same interior as every other liquor store in this state. The same drab color, the same ugly tiles on the floor, the same faded wood shelves holding the liquor. What is wrong with you people? Is there a state law that mandates that all stores need to look the same inside? Or is there some state employee down in Olympia (not the beer, the city) who just loves the color beige?
The store does have some bonus however:
1. Open Sunday.
2. Open Sunday.
3. Open Sunday.
Staff is not very friendly. I always try to put on my best liquor buying face, but the lady at the counter just scowled and asked me if it was debit or credit.

Open till 9pm! Open on Sundays! Clean and brightly lit! Non-​creepy employees!
Laural is right, one could possibly roller skate in here. And while I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend roller skating under the influence, I do NOT recommend it while holding nice new bottles of booze which you might break, so no skating in WA Liquor Store #187, please.

Mmmm… liquor. I was distraught when the old liquor store was closed, I panicked, thinking that I’d have to go to the one on 15^th and battle with the druggies at the plasma place next door.
Then this one opened.
So much room, it’s new and clean, and a parking lot to boot!
Now they only have to have this one open on Sundays and I’ll be a happy camper. A happy camper with vodka, that is.

Somebody seriously wants me to be an alcoholic. This place opened up just round the corner from where I live shortly after I moved there. That was on top of both the Lockspot & Sloop Tavern being each 2 minute walks. I give up, I give up. You’ve won mother alcohol.

This store is huge and makes me want to skate around inside.

When the original Ballard hooch dispensery closed, quite some damn time ago, I was crushed. No words could describe the sheer terror of having to drive slightly further away to Crown Hill or Magnolia to acquire my much loved Milagro tequila (or Cazadores or Herradurra or Corralejos … you get the idea!).
Yes grant it, Archie McPhee’s expanded and I do enjoy shopping at the Arch, but I’m Irish and I can’t run from my genetics. So thank the powers that be for a new location! And it’s even pretty to shop in and look at.
Located further down the way near Taco Time and The Lockbox.
BONUS: Open from 10am to 9pm Monday thru Saturday.