TOP RETAILERS
Wyatt ' s : Taking the Helm
BY JAMIE STAFFORD
Wyatt ' s Wet Goods is a full-service , independent wine , liquor and beer store in Longmont , CO , founded by Dennis Dinsmore in 2015 . It has 25,000 square feet , and more than 13,000 SKUs . As part of Coloradoans for Safety and the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association , as well as the Wine & Spirits Guild of America and American Beverage Licensees , Wyatt ’ s is quite active in the industry .
Mat Dinsmore , Dennis ’ s son , recently took over management of the store , keeping it under family leadership while still making changes to suit an evolving customer base and workforce . The store takes a proactive approach to employee wellbeing and work culture as well , offering a 401k , flexible PTO and limited health insurance to workers . “ In the last twelve months , we have refocused on staff training and staff retention ,” Dinsmore says . “ This is one of our largest areas of focus as the labor market is tight . We also realize our training shifted over the past 24 months due to Covid . Really , the last two and a half years have felt like a week . The big struggle for us has been finding out what the new normal is going to be .”
“ We still have Covid protocols in place ,” he continues . “ With our team , we ’ ve really focused on people and trying to take care of the people who ’ ve stayed . We ’ re able to get more involved in the community now , and we ’ re able to start partnering with some local on-premise businesses again . We ’ ve gotten involved with nonprofits and continue to manage our relationship with both customers and with wholesalers .”
Wyatt ’ s has kept their Covid protocols , just one change among many that has shaped the store in the past few years . “ We ’ re all still reeling a little bit ," says Dinsmore . " In-store , we still have spitguards and we ’ re still doing curbside and delivery . It ’ s not what it was two years ago , but definitely not what it was three years ago . I think a lot of these things are here to stay for the foreseeable future .”
“ Another thing ,” Dinsmore adds , “ is that the supply chain is still messed up . Even today , we face a lot of issues .”
When asked about the process of bringing Wyatt ’ s under new leadership , Dinsmore asserts that not much has changed , at least for the employees . “ In many ways , the leadership is not a whole lot different because I am my dad ’ s son . My dad is still coming in , making sure we don ’ t go too far off the rails . Yes , some things have changed , but the quality of service and products remain the same .”
Customers can rely on Wyatt ’ s to provide a successful shopping experience , because of their top-tier service and selection . But success for the store itself is a more complicated matter .
“ It ’ s always a moving target ,” Dinsmore says . “ Constant change is the one thing we can all agree upon , whether that ’ s product mix , your talent pool , your customer interactions . On the other hand , you have to look at dollars and cents , customer counts , margins . It ' s not as easy as ‘ do you run a profitable company ?’ because you ’ ve got shareholders in the community . You ’ ve got your nonprofits and wholesalers you work with as well .”
Most often , stores aren ’ t just beholden to their bottom line . That bottom line is informed by diverse variables that are all affected by the community . “ It ’ s really a broad spectrum of trying to do the best job you can for a very diverse group of shareholders ,” Dinsmore says . “ At the same time , you have to be profitable and be able to drive the engine forward .”
New Horizons
BY JAMIE STAFFORD
Liquor World , located in Las Vegas , NV , is a 10,000-squarefoot facility with an extensive selection of wine , spirits , beer , mixers and accessory items . It also contains a 1500-squarefoot wine and craft beer bar , climate-controlled wine lockup , cigar humidor and walk-in beer cave . It ’ s one of five locations around the Las Vegas resort corridor , with six more locations in the southwest part of the Las Vegas valley .
During the pandemic , the state deemed liquor stores nonessential . Nevada was one of only two states to do so . Matthew Lilley , general manager , recalls , “ We were completely closed down for almost 21 days . After that , we were allowed a temporary delivery license ( delivery was previously illegal ).
This presented its own
18 Beverage Dynamics • June 2022 www . beveragedynamics . com