RAPID

“ We wanted to own our buildings to control our cost structure ,” Konen says . “ We bid on that Toys " R " Us at auction like on eBay . We won the auction , but didn ’ t have the money . So we figured it out .”

This theme of rapid adaptation has helped propel the meteoric rise of Wine , Beer , and Spirits . Heiliger , who was running the taprooms , led the new retail project . He worked day and night , with a mattress and a pillow in a backroom , to make it work .

“ It was trial by fire ,” Heiliger remembers . “ We were making decisions on the fly . We were seeing what our competitors were doing and how we could try to be different and sticking to that .”

His work continued when the bankruptcy trustee identified a second vacant Toys " R " Us , shortly thereafter , in Lincoln .

“ That was a 45-day period between us getting that license and opening the store ,” Konen recalls . “ We were able to save 80 to 90 percent of our renovation budget , because we had gotten a lot smarter and quicker after learning from our Omaha store .”

Operating out of former Toys " R " Us locations has proved effective marketing .

“ There ’ s a sense of nostalgia at these places ,” Heiliger says . “ A lot of people remember those old stores fondly . The Toys " R " Us may be gone inside , but we still have their numbers up at the check-out stands . The bathrooms still say ‘ boys and girls ’.” And at Omaha , one wall still sports a large decal of Pac-Man .

“ Some of the locals now call us Booze “ R ” Us ,” says Marketing Director Daniel Galvis . “ We have a hundred nicknames already . Booze Warehouse is another . I was heading to our Lincoln store one day and was pulled over . The cop noticed the booze in my passenger seat and asked where I was going . When I said where , he replied , ‘ Oh , you ’ re going to church ’. I was confused . So he explained . Turns out there was a group of cops who go there every Sunday . They say it ’ s their ‘ sacred place ’.”

14 Beverage Dynamics • September / October 2022 www . beveragedynamics . com