Green ' s Beverage Stores what did Jerry think of his alcohol retail chain?
“ He always felt like the beverage stores had an expiration date around the year 2000,” says Reddic, who became president of Green ' s in 1996.“ He always felt that nothing lasts forever, and eventually competition from grocery or big stores would come in. So he had a very set date in his mind, 2000, to sunset the beverage stores.”
BEYOND THE SUNSET
Jerry was correct about those future risks posed by additional competition. Grocery has continued to seek expanded alcohol sales, while Big Box corporate stores have opened near Green’ s locations.
But the family business has hardly faded away, even when faced by those competitive challenges.
“ We were really fortunate when, in 2003 as Total Wine came in, Jerry was surprisingly supportive of me aggressively spending money in defending our market share,” says Reddic.“ He said,‘ You do what you need to do. The gloves are off’.”
“ That was such a great thing to hear as an employee, as a person in the business,” he adds.
“ I think the amount of knowledge in the general populace [ about THC drinks ] is still in its infancy.”
– LOCK REDDIC, CEO
“ That was one of the great leadership moments in the history of our company. That was a great leader thing to say. He was saying,‘ You can do this. It’ s worth spending the money so that we can stick around’.”
And stick around they did. Today, Green’ s has two traditional stores in Atlanta— Midtown / Brookhaven and Ponce De Leon— and another in the area, The Tap on Ponce, that sells beer and wine by the growler.
“ We have 50 taps there,” Reddic says.“ It’ s in a really cool industrial complex on the Atlanta Beltway.”
In South Carolina, Green’ s operates four traditional locations in Columbus and Myrtle Beach. The company also counts a fifth spot, adjacent to a Frugal MacDoogal, that only sells beer and wine.
Running a family beverage alcohol retail business in two different states presents unique challenges.
“ Obviously the laws and regulations are different in both states,” Reddic says.“ It can be difficult when you’ re dealing with customers who shop at different markets with different laws.”
For instance, Reddic points to state regulations that differ about where he can place Ready-to-Drink beverages. In Georgia, he can stock wine RTDs in the wine section, and spirits RTDs with the spirits. This makes for a natural shopping pattern, helping customers find what they want while encouraging trial within similar categories. However, in South Carolina, the stores cannot stock RTDs in this convenient manner, which means a lost marketing opportunity based solely on the location.
Another headache across state lines is“ dealing with competition that’ s different in each state, that’ s much more of a challenge,” Reddic reflects.
“ Historically, we’ re all selling the same things to the same human beings,” he adds.“ It’ s how you sell the same things differently that really matters.”
SHIFTING RETAIL LANDSCAPE
Sales in our industry, of course, remain in a period of correction. Changes in consumer tastes, especially younger LDA customers, have led to a dip in alcohol consumption, practically across the board. Just about the only category left untouched by this pullback is RTDs, which remain popular for their flavor-forward nature and convenience.
What does Reddic think of this unusual time for the beverage alcohol retail business?“ I think this period of transition will be more permanent that some people believe,” he says.
“ Especially with THC.”
By which Reddic means cannabis beverages. In our current difficult market, THC drinks— often produced by local breweries— have been a rare bright spot.“ We sell a lot of it,” Reddic says.
Risks remain in this budding category.“ I think the amount of knowledge in the general populace [ about THC drinks ] is still in its infancy,” Reddic says.
To his point, many consumers do not know the difference between a 3−mg, 5−mg, and 10−mg cannabis beverage.( Obviously that is quite the variance in terms of psychotropic potency and how long the intoxicating effect will last.) Compare this knowledge gap with the majority of drinkers who can understand the difference between a 4 %-ABV lager and a 10 %- ABV stout. Or an 80−proof bourbon versus a 120−proof cask strength single barrel.
However, as more consumers enter this category and explore around, they will learn how THC drinks work and what milligram level is right for them.
“ And as that consumer knowledge grows, I see this category getting bigger and bigger,” Reddic says.“ And I don’ t think the U. S. government is going to outlaw it.”
Reddic references a fresh threat to the industry: The potential closure of the loophole in the 2018 federal Farm Bill that permitted hemp-derived cannabis drinks in the first place. As part of legislation passed to reopen the U. S. government during its most recent shutdown, U. S. politicians scheduled loophole closure for November of this year. That would send THC beverages back to the states, and effectively ban producers from shipping products across state lines. www. beveragedynamics. com Summer 2026 • Beverage Dynamics 13