It's closing time for another wine and liquor shop near a Total Wine & More.
Fairview Wine & Spirits, less than a half-mile away from Total Wine in Roseville, will close Saturday after 32 years.
"I've had a great run," owner Steve Burwell said Monday. "I'm pumped this morning. I came in and did book work like I've done nearly every day for many years. I'm $20 off but I'm determined to find it."
It's a bittersweet closing for Burwell. He had a location in Crystal that closed years ago. He opened the Roseville store in 1985. "I love this industry but I'm getting a little tired. If I were four years younger, I'd stick it out," added Burwell, who is 67.
Burwell said his store took a tremendous hit after Total Wine opened nearby in 2014, but things had leveled off about a year ago and were starting to come back.
Total Wine made its Twin Cities debut with the location in Roseville and one in Burnsville, and now has seven stores in the Twin Cities. The others are in Maple Grove, Chanhassen, Bloomington, Eagan, and Woodbury. In 2013, Total Wine co-owner David Trone said the company was planning five to eight stores in the Twin Cities. It now has more than 160 stores in 20 states.
Trone said the profit margin in Minnesota's liquor stores was around 50 percent when he began opening stores in the Twin Cities, well above the national average of 25 to 35 percent.
The competitors that have been most vulnerable to pressure from Total Wine were those located nearby. Besides Fairview, Haskell's closed in Burnsville, and Cost Plus World Market wine and liquor stores closed in Bloomington and Maple Grove. Century Liquor closed in Chanhassen after Total announced its new location there, and two others closed in Minnetonka after Total Wine bought out their liquor licenses. An MGM in Burnsville near County Road 42 reduced its store size since Total Wine's market entry.
During Fairview's closing sale through Saturday, nearly all wine and liquor is now discounted 22 percent. Most of the customers coming through now are not regulars.
"I want to be appreciative of the customers that have stuck with us over the years," he said. "I was like the hairdresser who heard about their kids, church and their husbands or wives when they'd check out."
John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633
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