“ It was a site that Josh and I had looked at three years before , before the current owners had the site ,” Morgan explains . “ At that time there been some contingencies : Target and Best Buy [ in the same shopping center ] did not want to allow such a large liquor store . So we looked at other places ” for potential expansion .
Eventually , the realtor used by Buster ’ s called back the brothers . The property had new owners , and the obstructing contingency was gone . Were Josh and Morgan interested ?
“ We were off to the races ,” Morgan says .
Locally , the new store is known as Buster ’ s Liquors East , while the original shop ( situated to the west ) has taken on the name of Buster ’ s Liquors University , with the University of Memphis mere minutes away .
Built into an old Staples , the layout of the new location reflects modern trends in beverage alcohol retail .
“ We don ’ t have tall shelves ,” Josh says . “ It ’ s nice to look out across the store and see all the folks and security . It ’ s all clean and orderly .”
Checkout registers are arranged like
Buster ' s has a concierge desk , in a become become
U-shape . a mainstay of the
“ It ’ s much more
Memphis area through the efficient ,” Josh says . generations . “ It looks much better than grocery aisles .”
This location also boasts a walk-in humidor with Spanish cedar . ( Nationally , fine cigars seem to be making a comeback , likely as a pairing for consumers who increasingly prefer premium spirits like American whiskey .)
Reflecting another national trend in beverage alcohol retail , Buster ’ s East has a large tasting venue set up on the sales floor . In an era when consumers are as curious and eager to learn as ever , providing these educational , experiential events is critical for business . “ We held an event with eight suppliers there just this past weekend ,” Josh says .
Elsewhere in the building is a climate-controlled room for fine wine , which includes a granite table for tastings . “ We do VIP tastings in there ,” Josh says .
Continuing this experiential strategy , the new store also contains a conference room that can host even larger gatherings for tastings .
“ We ’ ve done several tastings in there already , and sold about $ 35,000 worth of product at each tasting ,” Josh says . “ This is how we differentiate this store , with unique customer experiences . We provide consumer education in intimate environments . It ’ s just not the same as when you get to meet the master distiller or brewer ” and taste their products with the people who have made them .
An important necessity not to overlook when routinely holding large-scale tastings , the building has a dishwasher room . All those Glens and wine gasses do not clean themselves .
Modern technology has played a big role in the new store , and at Buster ’ s in general .
“ We have all electric shelf tags in the new store ,” Josh says . “ Technology has always allowed us to scale up through the years . We launched our first ecommerce site in 2012 . It was clunky back then . Our new ecommerce site is dynamic . We ’ re always forward-thinking with this stuff .”
BUSTER ’ S BUTCHER
Yet another recent expansion of the Buster ’ s business has taken the company back to its grocery roots .
“ I always had a vision of a nice meat and cheese shop next door to ours ,” Josh says . “ A craft butcher is something that was lost for a while , but I ’ m now seeing that return in some of the big cities .” So why not in Memphis ? When the space next door to the South Highland St . location opened up , Josh sprung into action .
“ It all started quickly , on a whim ,” he says . “ I went out and I found a butcher .”
The timing was superb , as one of the better craft butchers in Memphis was suddenly available after the closure of a different prepared food business .
“ I knew , ‘ This was my guy ’,” Josh recalls . “ He already knows all the pitfalls of running a butcher .”
Buster ’ s Butcher opened in August of 2023 with 2,200 square feet . In its first year of operations , the butcher shop conducted 27,000 transactions , totaling just under $ 2 million in sales .
“ There ’ s definitely a need for this ,” Josh observes .
Agreeing with him is the man brought in to run the shop , Head
12 Beverage Dynamics • Spring 2025 www . beveragedynamics . com