Didn't look much at the wine selection, but it definitely pales in comparison to Total Wine according to my fiance. Bevmo's beer selection on the other hand is pretty fantastic. They have the beer organized by type and by country of origin. They had WA and other U.S., English, German, Canadian, etc. - I enjoy trying the local WA beers and was very excited that they had the Iron Horse Irish Death on draft.
Bevmo sells growlers for $6.99, a fill up of the Irish Death runs $8.99. Not too shabby. They have a rewards club that gets you discounted prices, they just want your info so they can advertise to you but hey it saves you some money and it's free so I figured why not.
I also enjoyed their selection of specialized glassware, they had brand specific beer glasses including Blue Moon, Stella, Alaskan, and Kona to name a few. There was also some specialized solo cupware that I had never seen before, like a margarita glass made with the solo cup look - kinda cool.
They also carry wine accessories, both fun and functional including glass charms, writing pens (so you can write notes and gift a bottle that way), carriers, covers, stoppers, aerators, etc. I looked up a package of off-brand bottle stoppers that were the same price on Amazon as they were in the store - needless to say I picked them up, so they have good deals and it's nice when stores don't mark-up everything they can just because when you go to a store that specific it's an item you usually need asap. They also had a few cheese selections and caviar next to the wine.
They had a neat bartender's book that listed probably all the drinks you could think of and bartending tools like muddlers, strainers, jiggers, etc. hung above. They have a great selection of mini liquor bottles if you're looking to try something without committing to a large bottle of it. And surprisingly next to that they had some cigars if you're into that. They also carry the larger size liquor bottles as well which is useful if you like a stocked bar - those were some strong shelves.
I had the pleasure of meeting the Assistant Manager, Karley (I think it had an 'e' in it) who was very nice and knowledgeable. I'm glad to have Bevmo in Bellevue and am happy it's just a quick jaunt on my home from work. read more