Supply issues, new ordinance impacting the mom-and-pop liquor stores in Shreveport
“We are definitely struggling with it ...”
SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — Some liquor stores experienced shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. And one family-owned store in Shreveport still is struggling to keep shelves stocked.
Bernie Woods, of Highland Fine Wine and Good Spirits, said they definitely are feeling the sting of supply issues and new ordinances.
“My customers either decide to buy something else or go somewhere else, so it’s definitely caused a shortage in profitability. We are definitely struggling with it because we cannot supply customers with all they demand.”
Woods and his wife have owned Highland Fine Wine and Good Spirits for three years and another liquor store on Lakeshore Drive for more than 15 years. Now there’s a strain on their booze business.
An ordinance passed in the city of Shreveport lets grocery stores apply for liquor licenses, and that could cause some issues for mom-and-pop stores. Suppliers sell larger amounts to bigger buyers, which is causing some inflation and shortages for stores like theirs.
For Woods, the big names have been the hardest to get on the shelves; but that does not mean he’s not ordering them.
“We get 20%, we wanna get 80%. In other words, we order 50 cases and get 13,” he explained. “It’s getting a little better. But, honestly, we have not been able to fill our orders every week since COVID.”
Good bourbons were hard to get, and cognacs were too. But now things are getting easier. Supply is coming in. Still, it’s not enough.
If grocery stores in the Highland area are approved to carry liquor, Woods believes it could put them out of business because those grocers will buy more of an already limited supply.
But Woods said he and his wife are not giving up the fight.
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