Charlotte Liquor Stores (aka ABC Stores)

Here at the Living in Charlotte blog, we don't beat around the bush when it comes time to having a good drink. God, after all, did not invent Coca-Cola, but he sure as heck gave us all natural spirits. So, if you're turned off at the thought of a pint of ale with your hamburger--we suggest you save yourself some time and read one of the other cheery posts on our blog. We promise that most are quite entertaining. For the rest of you who are quite happy with a martini or margarita at the end of your day, keep reading...this is important stuff.

Picking up booze in Charlotte is an interesting event for us transplants--particularly if you're from the northeast. First off, liquor stores here are controlled and regulated by the state. This means that you don't find any independent liquor stores within NC state lines. Now let me clarify before you guys get all jiggy on me. Beer and wine are sold everywhere here, and you can easily walk into your local CVS drugstore, Target, the supermarket or an independent store selling these two items. Liquor--or hard spirits--can only be sold at what are referred to as ABC stores in NC. ABC stores, however, don't sell any wine. If you're confused now, please hold tight...

ABC's have your typical collection of vodka, whiskey, rum and anything with a higher alcohol content that you usually spot on liquor store shelves. The mainstay brands are all there--Absolut, Johnnie Walker, Bushmills, etc. What ABC stores aren't is creative in terms of the more interesting or unusual brands. Matt, for example, has grown fond of a Spanish brandy, Gran Duque de Alba, over the years. It is common to see it on northeastern shelves, but it is not sold in ABC stores here. The brandy selection in NC, is actually quite pedestrian if you are into that particular beverage or anything else a little more unique.

So, what is one to do? Well, you run across the border to South Carolina, of course! They have similar named ABC stores in SC (though many have ordinary independent names too), but these are not state run. The selection here, is much more exciting and the store hours are more like what you'd expect from a liquor store. So, if you get that hankering for a mojito on a late Saturday might--you can head over to SC to get your mixings. Oh, and all NC ABC stores will be closed on Sundays.

There's a particularly good SC liquor store over the border in Fort Mill, SC, named Southern Spirits that has a great collection of booze (including Matt's beloved brandy). Now here's another confusing thing I warned you too look out for earlier. In SC, though the stores aren't state owned, they are state regulated--and there are very different rules for wine and beer versus booze.
Let's use Southern Spirits as the illustrative example. You'll notice that the store has two doors, and actually, there is a partial wall dividing the store in half. One half has wine and the other has hard spirits and beer. You CANNOT walk with your hard liquor over to the the wine section, but you MAY take your wine over into the spirits section! Isn't it crazy!? [Side note: If you happen to go to Southern Spirits on Saturdays and spot the BBQ pork vendor in the parking lot, DO NOT go home without one of his pork butts! He and his momma spend all Friday prepping and cooking them. They are truly fantastic!].

The other thing that sucks about NC ABC stores, is that there are no special sales. Since the state government owns all the booze--they don't feel the need to compete on price with anyone else since they are the only show in town in NC. So, you won't see your favorite Grey Goose $5 off any time soon, which is quite disappointing. You can race over to SC, though, and they'll often have interesting discounts--plus it tends to be cheaper than NC in general. While you're there, stop at the gas station too--because gas is cheaper too! What could be better? You make one run out there for cheaper booze, cheaper gas and good ol' tender pork butt that has been stewing for 15 hours!

Up until a year ago, NC didn't even have a state lottery, and all of us were running over the border to SC to get our power ball and scratch off tickets, too.
There are "dry" counties all around the Charlotte area that you need to look out for if you are interested in imbibing in a drink, like when you go to a restaurant, let's say. For those of you who don't know what dry means in this instance--it signifies that the town has established that no alcohol can be served to anyone at any establishment whatsover. People from New Jersey will be quite familiar with this concept, since there are plenty of dry town about. The rest of you may be picking yourselves up off the floor right about now. What?! Lisa, are you saying I won't be able to get a drink while I delight in my 20 ounce porter house steak? That's right, Johnnie, no booze for you!

Mecklenberg county caters to drinkers, and most establishments have the ability to pour a drink so long as they are licensed, of course. Waxhaw, in union county, however is a dry town. Waxhaw's neighbor, Marvin, has passed a "per drink" rule, which allows an establishment to serve individual glasses of alcohol. Funny thing is, Marvin doesn't actually have any restaurants or pubs yet. Go figure! Three years ago, a Harris Teeter nearly refused to move into the Wesley Chapel area unless it could sell wine and beer, and the township relented since everyone really, really wanted a nice supermarket. The pubs bordering union are packed to the gills because that's the closest place that folks who live in the county can go to grab a pint.

I don't know about you people, but after a day of working hard, wrestling with the kids and paying the bills--I definitely need that glass of shiraz with my shrimp plate. And, I sure as heck don't want to deal with Matt if he can't have his martini as he's patiently waiting for his favorite Idaho Rainbow Trout at 131 Main. So, we tend to stick to restaurants in Meck County where we can share our love of food and drink in unison as the gods intended.

I don't mean to offend anyone that feels that drinking should not be part of the daily program. To each his own, I say. But the good lord was having his glass of vino at his last supper--and I plan on doing the same at all of mine...just in case!

Salut!