Chilly ' s Discount Liquor expanded into the storefront next door two years ago , increasing from 4,500 square feet to a new total of 12,000 square feet . To fill this extra room , the store has added an additional tasting bar , massage chair and more .
ing dock in the back , as the former renter was a hardware store . “ Deliveries come in so much easier now ,” Coram says .
“ We ’ re never going back to the Covid years , but
our sales jumped and then never come down . Now , a lot of that has to do with the expansion , but we ’ re seeing + 5 % to + 7 % constantly , and in all categories .”
– Steve Coram , founder and owner of Chilly ' s Discount Liquor
DOING BUSINESS TODAY
In 2024 , some years removed now from the Covid−19 retail boom , “ business has been solid ,” Coram observes . “ We ’ re never going back to the Covid years , but our sales jumped and then never come down . Now , a lot of that has to do with the expansion , but we ’ re seeing + 5 % to + 7 % constantly , and in all categories .” One gage of good business that Coram monitors closely is customer count . “ Yesterday , for example , we had 364 customers . Last year on this date , we had 320 ,” he explains . “ I don ’ t worry when the economy gets bad , because people just trade down . And so long as the customer count is still good , then I just got to ride the wave .”
“ Now , if the customer count is not good , then I got to look at my competition and my prices ,” he continues . “ And I need to talk to customers . For instance , I had to fire one employee because I found out from talking with a customer that the employee had been rude to him .”
Hiring staff has become harder recently because the Greenfield economy has picked up .
“ They opened up a Chick Filet , a Starbucks and an Olive Garden ,” Coram says . “ Part-time jobs were going over to those businesses , so I had to increase our payroll a little bit .”
Coram discovered that some potential hires hesitated to work at Chilly ’ s because the law required that they spend $ 45 on a personal license to sell alcohol . So Coram began buying the licenses himself for new staff .
Back during the pandemic , Chilly ’ s was one of countless stores that shortened their hours . “ We ’ ve never gone back on our hours after Covid ,” Coram says . “ We were 9 to 11 in the past . Now we close at 10 . That gives employees time to get home , watch the news , go to bed .”
“ All the hotels and bars are on the other side of town , while we ’ re closer to the neighborhoods , so nobody near is staying up late ,” he adds . “ Everyone in our strip mall now tries to close around 10 . It hasn ’ t hurt our business at all .”
WORKING AS A FAMILY
Chilly ’ s is a true family business . Each day at work , Coram is joined by his children Matt and Abbey .
“ Working with my kids is great . It ’ s really rewarding ,” he says . “ I learn from www . beveragedynamics . com Winter 2024 • Beverage Dynamics 11