Gene Blair at Capco Beverages in Issaquah is distinguishing his liquor store from the grocery and big box stores by specializing in scotches and bourbons. And in Sammamish, Jin Kim, who owns Plateau Spirits and Wine, is concentrating on a wide variety of vodka.

When the state got out of the liquor business in June, the former state liquor stores were auctioned to the highest bidder. Kim bought her store on 228th Ave. NE for $200,000; Leon Capelouto of Seattle, who also won the bid on the West Seattle store, won the bid on the Issaquah store for $251,000. Blair manages the Issaquah store.

“I’ve always specialized in scotch and bourbon, and I’ve expanded on them,” Blair said. He has also expanded on minis, because the grocery stores don’t sell them since they are so easy to steal. He stocks 175 different minis, and Kim carries 50 varieties of the little bottles.

At the Issaquah store, Blair has over 100 scotches and over 100 bourbons. He likes to focus on product from local distilleries and he carries only Washington wines. The store has also added bar supplies, gift bags and novelties such as Bailey’s chocolates. Blair also plans to carry growlers, which are 64 oz. jugs of beer that the consumer brings back to refill, which Kim has already done.

Kim has 12 taps of high quality beer to fill her growlers. She said a growler compares to five pints, but it’s much better beer and a better value. For example she carries Redmond’s Mac & Jacks and Georgetown’s Mannys for $9.99 a growler. Taps at Plateau Spirits and Wine will rotate seasonally – right now Kim has a pumpkin beer on tap.

Blair said they have to separate themselves from the competition.

“One thing about the liquor business, you can buy now in 10 different places, but if you want choice, or different things, they (grocery stores, big box stores) all have the same thing,” Blair said.

Kim said competing with the big box stores is hard, but she has more than 3,000 varieties of vodka in stock — everything from a caramel-flavored vodka to a Bison grass flavored vodka from Poland, which she said is very good and no one else has. You can even see the long elegant piece of grass standing in the bottle.

Kim also has daily beer tastings, weekly wine tastings, and 10 percent discounts on purchases of six or more bottles of spirits or wine, a 10 percent discount on your birthday and seniors (over 65) get 10 percent off on Tuesdays.

Like Blair, she added accessories, such as Riedel wine glasses, to her inventory.

Blair does find it bizarre that people still drive by the Issaquah store thinking it’s closed.

“It never occurred to me that people would drive by and not realize we’re still here,” he said.

He said it’s probably because most of the liquor stores that were bought at auction have folded up and gone out of business.

“Some of them just didn’t know the business and what they were getting into,” he said. “I’m trying to get everything the big stores can’t.”

Brian Smith, spokesman for the state liquor control board said when 1183 passed, just because someone bought the license for a store, it doesn’t necessarily mean it opened right away or will open at all. The buyer can also move the license to a location within one mile. In the case of Issaquah and Sammamish both stores are where they were when they were state owned.

Klahanie Liquor and Wine never got the chance to open as a state liquor store, because 1183 passed before it could. It would have been a neighbor to QFC, which blocked it from opening in that location.

Linda Ball

425-391-0363, ext. 5052

lball@issaquahreporter.com