I considered my 18th birthday to be a major life event. The draft had ended but the Vietnam War was still raging and, at 18, we were still required by law to obtain a draft card. At age 18 I could also legally buy land, vote and generally transact business on my own. Turning 18 was a big deal.
Nearly as important were the laws setting the age for alcohol consumption. My home state of Iowa allowed us to drink at age 18, which seemed plenty old to me, even though other states set the drinking age at 21. And other countries had even lower age limits, letting me get punch-drunk in their country at, say, age 16.
A brief story. During the summer after I turned 18, my Dad and I took a vacation to Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park. We camped all week, cooking our own food and drinking beers under the evening blanket of stars. Mid-week we ran out of food and drink so we drove down Big Thompson Canyon to a nearby store for staples. After we checked out, Dad grabbed the groceries while I toted the beer. The check-out clerk stopped us, "Excuse me, young man, but you must be 21 to carry that beer out of the store." So I gladly handed over the heavier larder. "Here you go, Dad!" We proceeded back up the canyon to finish our camping experience. So much for the differences in state-mandated liquor laws.
When I was a few years older and newly married, I moved to Plano to start that equity-building family life venture thing that people sometimes do in their 20's. When our booze stock got low I drove to a nearby store for replenishment, only to learn that, no way, Plano-ians must travel to another municipality to buy alcohol. Yes, those damned blue laws were keeping dear the last vestiges of Prohibition. So, in addition to politicians playing with my liberties at national and state levels, municipalities can put their hands there, too. On my way to Addison I said a prayer over the soul of Patrick Henry.
So every few weeks young Citizen Grumpy would dutifully commute from Plano to The Colony or Addison to buy booze. Yes, beer and wine were available in nearby stores, but the better ones were down in Big D and none in Plano could sell that evil drink of the distilled variety.
I'm speculating that S&K Beverage was successful because they capitalized on these dumb laws. S&K offers a vast quantity of all types of beer and wine at bargain prices, a palatable combination for the Grumpster. Throw in a big cigar humidor with the same rules and I'm in vice heaven.
In recent years our household honed our tastes to a more diverse selection of wines and beers, and S&K carries most all of our favorites. There's such price competition for domestic beers that I'm guessing stores have minimal margin for discounts, but microbrews and non-domestics are a different story. Wines are plentiful in our home, and we try to stock several varieties at a spectrum of price points. S&K helps us here, too. While S&K isn't the cheapest in town for any specific wine choice, I find them consistently lower across the board than most competitors (Siegels, Goody Goody, Centennial), and much cheaper than many corner specialty places (e.g. Pogos and CBS). As for cigars, S&K again comes in strong with our house favorites and has 2-for-1 deals on several selections. I am always happy with S&K's freshness in both cigars and beverages probably because they turn inventory so quickly.
When I went to S&K for the first time several years ago, the guy in charge greeted me at the door, "Hey boss!" Grumpy likes a place that lets the customer be the boss. Even though I now live in Dallas and visit them infrequently the staff is still just as friendly as in years past. During my last stop at S&K I learned that the guy who called me "Boss" is gone; however, they still work under the same customer-first principle. This guy is also a fairly big car freak, in case you care to chat with him about your ride.
It's the 21st century and Plano is still alcohol-stupid. (Dallas is not exactly a clear winner either when it comes to planning and zoning.) However, maybe we can craft a silver lining in this legislative mess if places like S&K Beverage succeed by providing good prices and a great selection.
I moved away from Plano and into Dallas a few years ago for several reasons, and one big reason was so that I could live and pay taxes in an area that won't make you commute to buy your booze. Now I commute occasionally to S&K to buy beer and wine. Go figure. read more
