Directories
Quick Searches
Find a Job
Quick Search
For Employers
Yahoo! HotJobs Local Search
MURRIETA: Beverages and More coming to town
Opening scheduled for the fall in Murrieta's Village Walk Plaza
By NELSY RODRIGUEZ - Staff Writer | ∞
MURRIETA ---- For those who might have thought it a good idea to top off a day of shopping at Village Walk Plaza in Murrieta by picking up a cool specialty brew, this one's for you.
The Murrieta Planning Commission voted 5-0 to approve a permit Wednesday allowing the opening of a Beverages and More store in the shopping center. BevMo!, as its commercial sign reads, will occupy a 9,654 square foot suite at 24390 Village Walk Place.
It is scheduled to open by Oct. 31.
The business will be housed in a suite surrounded by other large retail names, such as Circuit City, Guitar Center, Bed Bath & Beyond and Babies R Us, among other stores in the shopping plaza.
The project site is sandwiched by Interstate 15 to the east and Hayes Avenue to the west.
The opening of the Murrieta store will continue the beverage retailers' expansion in Southern Californian as well as Southwest Riverside County. BevMo! will open its 82nd California store Friday in La Quinta, said Director of Real Estate Jeff Sealy.
Another BevMo! is scheduled to open in Menifee, Sealy said, and there is already one in Temecula on Winchester Road. Sealy said information gathered through the BevMo! club card shows that Murrieta residents spend about $1 million a year at the Temecula store.
"We are not a liquor store as you've come to know it," Sealy told the commission during a presentation before the vote. "We're also not a convenience store. We do not sell cigarettes, malt liquor or fortified wines, lottery tickets or adult magazines. Our intent is to blend, be consistent and be a good contribution."
In the wine aisles, each store carries about 3,000 different varieties, Sealy said, including 1,100 selections from California wineries. The store will care about 1,200 liquors, 800 types of beers and other items including caviar, specialty meats and cheese and crackers, he said. Stemware, bar accessories and cigars will complement the collection of comestibles.
Wine tastings also will be offered on a schedule to be determined. Typical wine tastings include 1-ounce samples and often will be held by winemakers, Sealy said.
While some commissioners expressed concern about the wine tasting ---- Commissioner Barbara Lupro pushed for capping the number of 1-ounce wine samples a person can taste ---- BevMo! representatives calmed the angst by explaining the company's self-regulating system to assure alcohol-related laws are complied with.
No person younger than 21 can enter a BevMo! store without an adult, and the company routinely uses a decoy to test whether employees would sell alcohol to minors.
"We have an applicant here that has a very good business model and a zero tolerance policy within the store itself," said Commissioner Mike Fitzpatrick. "Getting into specifying the number of samples will limit their ability to operate their business the way that they are accustomed to operating their business."
Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com.
More Stories
Advertisement
An ounce at a time wrote on Aug 14, 2008 6:37 AM:Here we go ago again, a Planning Commissioner thinking they have the right to tell a business how to operate. Bars are not restricted in the number of drinks they are allowed to sell; grocery store sales of alcohol are not restricted. Wait until the commissioner learns that the Target on CalOaks has applied for a liquor license (see CA’n legals). Is this commissioner gonna make objections here too?
What wrote on Aug 14, 2008 6:57 AM:This is horrible! What Murrieta needs is more churches to raise fine young men. ... I'm outraged!
SadButTrue wrote on Aug 14, 2008 8:25 AM:By becoming meddlesome and nit picking over issues amounting to nothing, the planning commissioners make themselves feel like they are doing something. What they should be doing instead is everything possible to ratchet up the economy in Murrieta. But that of course would require hard work and talent.
say what wrote on Aug 14, 2008 8:37 AM:Don't they also sell soda and fruit drinks like Orngina. It's not just alcohol.
Bob wrote on Aug 14, 2008 9:05 AM:Good news! I've been to the Temecula store five times since it opened, and have not bought any alcohol yet. Now my son and I won't have to drive to Temecula to buy our favorite Rootbeer and creme soda, not to mention imported cheese's and snacks. Bevmo only allows three small samples of beer (less than 1 ounce) on Friday nights, and I'm sure the wine samples are also limited.
Murrieta Resident wrote on Aug 14, 2008 11:56 AM:It's about time we got something good in Murrieta. Now if we could only entice Trader Joe's and Henry's I wouldn't have to drive to Temecula.
Also, To: What
Do you even know what BevMo's is? It's not just a liquor store. Check it out before you criticize. Unless, you are being facetious
Let me see wrote on Aug 14, 2008 12:01 PM:Do a make at least a partial payment on the mortgage I really wasn't qualified for, or buy a case of overpriced micro-brewry beer? Ah, the dilemma of a Murrietan!
To Let me see wrote on Aug 14, 2008 2:26 PM:What does that have to do with the price of beans? If you read the article it states that the BevMo card club info claims that Murrieta residents spend about $1 million dollars a year in their store. That's a lot of tax going to Temecula instead of Murrieta, unless of course it's a typo.
What wrote on Aug 14, 2008 2:59 PM:Facetious.
The geniuses at the Californian edited it from its original context. If you only knew how much this fascist news site either edits comments, or doesn’t publish good quality post because it conflicts with the authors personal and usually, their absurd religious beliefs.
Of course, this comment too will probably end up in the grand old Nazi abyss.
Cool... wrote on Aug 14, 2008 7:58 PM:I walk to the coffee shop in that area already... now I can walk over and browse the imported beers... save some gas....
To What wrote on Aug 14, 2008 8:59 PM:You hit that comment on the head! This paper will probably edit or delete my two cents. They're so biased against anything that doesn't suit them. If this was a Temecula store, it would have been on the front page with a large color picture. Oh, wait. They already did that.
A mil wrote on Aug 14, 2008 9:02 PM:Are you serious? That's a lot wine! If that's true, the city of Murrieta will generate some good revenue!
Oh Great wrote on Aug 14, 2008 9:18 PM:So everyone that just lost their homes
can go buy their liquior and sit
under a bush, since they don't have a home anymore.
Shop Here wrote on Aug 14, 2008 9:20 PM:I suggest going to the Old Town Rootbeer
Store in Old Town Temecula or the
Temecula Cheese Shop and buy from the
locals.
HAHAHA wrote on Aug 15, 2008 9:12 AM:im sitting over here in iraq, and i read up on here almost everyday to see whats going on in murrieta, and i gotta say ur comments thats every puts on here makes me laugh. Thanx guys and keep up the good work! haha!
Oh and i think its an awesome idea...i have no clue wat the heck a BEVMO is...since I havent been back to my home town in almost 2 years, but I come home in 3 months, and i would love to have a selection for 300+ beers, and 1200 different types of liquor lol
and dont worry ill be having my younger drive for me, dont need a DUI on my record!
juls wrote on Aug 15, 2008 9:23 AM:It is about time!!!!Now we need a Trader Joes and decient restuarants!!!!
To HaHaHa wrote on Aug 15, 2008 1:27 PM:I wish you all the luck in the world and hope you return safe and in one piece. From the bottom of my heart, I THANK YOU.
That said, when you get home, maybe you can help us fight the Californian for reader / journalism freedom. They're brutal with there selected propaganda BS!
Signed,
What?
Arnys Army wrote on Aug 15, 2008 3:43 PM:What a group. Trader Joes is BevMo thirty years ago. Skunky beers and two dollar wines that were unfit for consumption unless you added a 7UP and ice. Funny how cycle continues. Free enterprise is my motto, let it happen captain.
To Ha Ha Ha wrote on Aug 16, 2008 1:26 PM:First, let me say: Thank you for your service. Second, stay safe and come back to your family. Last but not least, keep that sense of humor. Bless you and all your buddies.
Knows st hand wrote on Aug 22, 2008 2:54 PM:Hello to all Bevmo fans! We sell old time sodas,cheese,crackers,chips,nuts,cups,napkins,gift bags,candy,spirits,wine, beer cigars. Bevmo supports and carries many local brews and wines as well as those hard to find imports and beers from your yester years. Please give us a look before you make harsh assumptions. They are one stop shopping especially for weddings, parties and holidays. Only closed 2 days a year!
- ESCONDIDO: Man shot dead at Fourth of July party (10602)
- TEMECULA: Protesters line intersection (6597)
- ESCONDIDO: 3 DUI arrests, 46 impounds at checkpoint (5389)
- ESCONDIDO: Border Patrol employee in custody after hatchet attack (5312)
- ESCONDIDO: City's dreams of an 'upscale' downtown may be dying (4975)
- HOUSING: Local median price up for third straight month (45)
- ESCONDIDO: Man shot dead at Fourth of July party (44)
- FALLBROOK: Peruvian chocolatier living sweet American dream (29)
- ESCONDIDO: Border Patrol employee in custody after hatchet attack (29)
- ESCONDIDO: Victim's roommate recalls July 4 shooting, friends gather for vigil (27)
Advertisement