When BevMo! moves to Los Altos this week, the product selection will be as much about quality as quantity.
“We’re known as a place to go where you can find a unique, curated, premium assortment,” Greg Endom, the company’s senior vice president of real estate, told the Town Crier.
Founded in 1994 in San Francisco, BevMo!, among the first beverage superstores, gained success for offering everything from popular brands to local favorites.
The corporation’s newest location at 4700 El Camino Real replaces the BevMo! storefront two blocks away in Mountain View’s San Antonio Shopping Center.
“The shopping center is going through a pretty dramatic remodel and our area is the next slated for renovation,” Endom said. “It was an opportunity to upgrade the store while the landlord upgrades the center.”
The company will shutter its Mountain View store the day before opening the Los Altos location Thursday, according to Endom.
Customers can anticipate familiar product offerings – wines from around the world, sake, vermouth, port, spirits and beer, in addition to wine accessories and gourmet food. As opposed to the former location, the store now offers dedicated parking for customers.
Since BevMo!’s founding more than two decades ago, the industry market has become increasingly crowded with more outlets such as membership clubs, grocery stores and drug chains offering similar products.
But BevMo!’s leadership isn’t concerned.
“We have the best selection of anybody,” Endom said. “We have a broader assortment than supermarkets can provide, and we have the ability to provide the depth of quantity for parties or entertaining.”
What’s more, the company’s specialized approach enables it to provide a “quality shopping experience,” Endom said.
“Our employees are focused on product knowledge – wine pairings with food and cheeses,” he said, noting that premium wines and spirits, as well as craft beer, are popular in the area.
Company decides less is mo’
The privately held corporation – founded as Beverages & More! and rebranded as BevMo! in 2001 – claims to be the No. 1 specialty beverage retailer on the West Coast, with 157 stores in California, Arizona and Washington.
In the beginning, the company had only five stores – all quite large at 17,000-20,000 square feet. But BevMo! has learned that bigger isn’t always better. The Los Altos location downsizes the area’s current store to 8,400 square feet.
“We can present everything the customer wants in a much more curated, intimate environment,” Endom said. “We’re really excited. We have a very loyal customer base in this area, and we didn’t want to move far.”
In crossing El Camino Real, BevMo! marks its first store within Los Altos city limits.
“The opportunity to call Los Altos home is something we’ve always wanted to achieve,” Endom said, adding that the company has sought a new space for the past two years. “It’s a short move but an important one for us to now have a Los Altos address. … We see it as a good, long-term home for us.”
BevMo! is scheduled to celebrate the opening of its new location 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday. As is tradition with the company’s grand openings, executives will be on hand at 6 p.m. to “saber” a bottle of champagne with a 10-foot sword – all in the name of good luck and prosperity. Other festivities will include a live radio remote, customer giveaways and cheese pairings and wine tastings from Roederer Estate and Stag’s Leap.
For more information, visit bevmo.com.
