Does anyone have suggestions or experience with purchasing liquor by the bulk. I'm hoping it'd save me from paying retail, as I'll be needing it for a wedding in 1 month .
A few suggestions: Sams Club or Costco, they probably won't give you a great deal, but the bottles are huge. See if there are any breweries or liquor makers in your area, call them, they may make a deal. Go to some local bars, talk to the managers, they may either provide the liquor OR you can find out who provides it for them. That company may offer more advice. Duty Free. Go to Canada.
The liquor store besides costco, you dont need a membership. We bought 20 cases of Henny privilege for a wedding and it was the cheapest out of all liquor stores.
The last time i was in a Sam's I noticed that one did not need a card to buy liquor there. I am guessing that has to do the State of Texas's alcohol permit???
I can't imagine Costco being cheaper than Spec's downtown, since the are the biggest wholesaler in the city. Most liquor stores in town actually buy from Spec's. Ask them for a discount, or to beat any price.
Well I bought a half gallon of Henrick's from the Costco Liqour store for $5 less than the Spec's warehouse price.
As I understand it from when my wife got her wine & beer license, alcohol laws won't allow a wholesaler to sell directly to an end-customer. So, you can't really "go to the source" and buy cheaper than retail. There's a loophole designed for wineries to sell in their tasting rooms where a producer can sell direct, but that's not really a good way to get a deal. I think your best bet really is Sam's Club, Costco, and maybe Specs (though I have my doubts on that one). I don't know Spec's situation, but that runs counter to what I know about how alcohol sales are regulated in Texas. Spec's is a retailer, and I don't think they're allowed to retail and to wholesale at the same time. That's what I've been told. And retailers are not allowed to buy from other retailers. The TABC just came to visit my wife's business this week and wanted to see her invoices "to make sure she wasn't buying from Walmart." So, even if Spec's manages to wholesale and retail at the same time, I don't think that does anything for OP because he doesn't have a liquor license; he has to buy as a retail customer. He might be able to negotiate a bulk discount if he shops his business around. But, he won't be able to buy from a wholesaler.
I am impressed that y'all can buy liquor at Sam's or Costco; I have seen that in Phoenix, AZ, but not before in Texas. (nor in some other southern states; I'm not even sure if they sell alcohol at all in some of those locations) Anyway, ours sells beer and wine but not hard liquor. Guess it's a local thing instead of a statewide thing?
Grocers get wine & beer licenses, but not liquor licenses (though I forget why). Sam's and Costco (and Fiesta) set up a separate store right next door that operates on a liquor license, and presumably as a separate corporate entity. Essentially, their liquor stores share the brand and marketing, but not the legal or operative structure.
