News Briefs for October 17, 2012
October 17, 2012•Total Wine & More and BevMo are both expanding with new locations in Eastern Washington and Central California. Total Wine’s latest Washington store is its first in the eastern part of the state, located in Spokane’s Northpointe Shopping Center. Opening next month, the 25,000-square-foot space—which is Total Wine’s 87th store overall—will feature more than 8,000 wines, 3,000 spirits and 2,500 beers, as well as a beer-tasting bar and a 12-tap growler section. BevMo’s newest Central California store, meanwhile, is slated to open later this month in Visalia. The 9,400-square-foot outpost is BevMo’s first location in the city, which is located outside Fresno, and its 124th store across California, Arizona and Washington. BevMo Visalia will offer more than 1,900 wines, 1,700 spirits and 1,500 beers, alongside a selection of gourmet food, cocktail mixers, glassware and bar accessories.
•Sazerac Co. has agreed to acquire orange liqueur brand Gran Gala from Central Europe’s Stock Spirits Group for an undisclosed sum. Prior to the deal, Sazerac had served as the Italian liqueur’s U.S. importer for the past three years. According to Stock Spirits CEO Chris Heath, the divestment of Gran Gala will better allow the company to pursue “significant opportunities…in our core markets of Central and Eastern Europe as well as international markets worldwide.” Made with barrel-aged VSOP brandy and infused with Tarocco, Bionda and Rossa oranges, Gran Gala Triple Orange Liqueur typically retails for around $20 a 750-ml. The purchase follows a flurry of recent acquisitions for New Orleans-based Sazerac, which has acquired more than 40 brands from White Rock Distilleries over the past 15 months.
•Drambuie has launched a new ad campaign in the U.S. for its Scottish liqueur brand. Entitled “A Taste of the Extraordinary,” the campaign targets modern, younger LDA consumers, with a focus on explaining its unique taste and how it can be consumed. The photos feature a surreal, black and white landscape with a Drambuie bottle and its amber liquid in sharp contrast. Drambuie will run the campaign from October to November in San Francisco, Denver and Portland, Oregon, on wallscapes, taxi tops, kiosks and bus shelters, among other places. Drambuie, which is handled in the U.S. by Bacardi USA, sells around 70,000 cases annually in the market.
•The Chicago Department of Aviation and Westfield Concession Management have unveiled plans for a $26 million revamp of Chicago O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 5 that will include multiple new dining and shopping options. New dining venues will include Tortas Frontera, a Mexican restaurant from chef Rick Bayless; Tocco, a rustic Italian concept; Natural Break, a juice bar and sandwich shop; Local Headlines Bar, a gastropub; and a coffee bar currently being developed by Intelligentsia Coffee. In addition, Chicago-based restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You will be opening four restaurants—the company’s first airport venues—including outposts of Hub 51, Big Bowl and Wow Bao, and a new Mediterranean concept called Urban Olive. The airport renovations are slated for completion by fall 2013.
•Renowned California chef and restaurateur Bradley Ogden has announced that he will be signing leases on three restaurant spaces in Houston, Texas, next week. Two of the restaurants will be fast-casual chicken concepts and the third will be an Ogden Pub serving American cuisine and craft beers. All three restaurants will be located west of downtown Houston within the loop and the first is expected to open within six to seven months.
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Tagged : BevMo, Chicago, Drambuie, restaurants, retail, Sazerac, Total Wine & More
