Wine and Spirits Store

I’m new to town, so after reading the reviews I was super hesitant about going to this place. So I called first to see if they had what I wanted. Not only did they have what I was looking for, they suggested some things that I would like based off of what I called in for. I spoke to a lady named Judy over the phone and asked if I could ask for her when I arrived. She was ready for me and took me right to what I wanted and then showed me some other things that she felt I would enjoy… And she was right! So I looked around to see what else they had. Another person who worked there came to check on me and let me know he was available to help if need be. The lines moved pretty fast and there was no one by the door asking for money. So all in all, I was super satisfied with the location and the service. I will definitely venture there again!

Terrible service, decrepid looking store, poor selection.
This is what happens when the government owns and operates retail stores.

Best to avoid this location unless you are in desperate need of booze. I visited when I realized my dinner location was BYOB, and we had a large party of thirsty people, so JJ and I rushed over to appease the masses.
In addition to the already limited wine selection offered in W&S stores, this one is even smaller. The place itself is long and narrow, with little natural light (good for keeping alcohol fresh, but bad for those who hate the gray industrial look of fluorescent track lighting). It doesn’t seem dirty, but the alcohol also isn’t very organized and the shelves were sparsely stocked.
I didn’t encounter a long wait of any kind, but the man begging outside the doors was enough to make me vow to buy my alcohol elsewhere before an event.

Let’s be real this place gets 3 stars out of necessity, but it is the worst Wine and Spirits store I have been in. I am grateful for it, as otherwise I would need to walk my booty downtown to the store on Market, or all the way up to Girard, but it really needs improvement. The experience I generally have here from start to finish usually sucks the fun out of picking out a nice bottle of wine.
To begin, like the reviews say, there are constant around the clock panhandlers at the doors of this place, no matter what day or time you go they will be there. Its cool, I can turn a blind eye but its not a good first impression. Then if you were intending to buy a particular bottle of something decent and not burnetts or franzia, most likely it will be out of stock, so don’t get your hopes up. Sometimes they run out of Titos, sometimes the entire shelves of midrange reds are out of stock, it frequently looks like pre-​hurricane madness has struck the shelves, but for no particular reason. Also the wine fridge… If you want a decent bottle of chilled pinot grigio on your way to one of the neighborhood byobs… PLAN AHEAD or else you’ll be drinking Fish Eye as the selection is super limited.
Long story short, I usually find something decent to drink, but there have been multiple occasions where I need a particular item and its completely gone. Rarely is anyone at this store welcoming, in fact its usually the opposite. As mentioned it fills a much needed void in the area and I’ll be back, with my hopes up it’ll be more pleasant next time.

Dreadful place: disorganized, often sullen service, poor selection of wines and an attitude of ‘who cares.’ It’s exhibit A why the state store system is a lousy way to sell alcohol.

If the DMV sold liquor, it would be exactly like this.

I used to love that I lived so close to this store, but it needs improvement. I like their selection, they usually have the perfect bottle of wine to bring to a party.
But there are two things I’d like to see improved:
1) Their line situation confuses most people.
2) They need to control the people outside heckling for money. One time I was in their long line and a strung out man came in the store asking people to give him money while they were trying to pay at the register. Most of the people told him they already gave him money outside, but he kept bothering people. The security guard did nothing about it, until the manager came out and yelled at him to do his job. The whole situation left a bad taste in my mouth.

A decent enough selection to be the store I visit the most; but for the best deals and a more diverse selection, the one at 2^nd and Girard is the best in town. The staff is hit-​or-​miss, but generally helpful. I don’t often fine a wine expert at the store, though.

This store is a last resort for when I don’t appropriately plan my booze runs. The wine selection isn’t the most organized, so it takes an extra long time to find what I’m looking for. Also, the line is always long, even on off peak times.
The employees at this location aren’t very helpful, unlike other stores in the city, where they are knowledgeable about the products. I also had one cashier that couldn’t do simple change calculations in her head.
Also, there are always panhandlers outside. Always.

Avoid it and go to another in the city if possible. No matter what time of day, there WILL be someone heckling you for cash outside and the line WILL be all up in the center aisle reaching to the back. Makes it awkward if you need champagne real quick and need to reach around the people huffing in line.

This branch of PLCB is pretty mediocre. Unfortunately it is the best stocked in our general neighborhood :(I have been avoiding it recently (making an effort to go to one on my way home from work) so when I went in last night the wine had been reorganized. It now makes a little more sense, as it is organized by country of origin not color but it threw me for a loop. I wish they would stock their white cooler with more variety, there are way too many mini bottles in there. I also despise how they run their line different than other stores confusing the customers.
In general my complaints are more with the PLCB than the individual stores, but I have found every employee I have ever asked at this store for help here completely unknowledgeable. I don’t know why it upsets me, but I think that if you work in a store that sells wine and liquor you should know about wine and liquor, more than where the flavored vodkas are in the store. But I realize I am probably asking too much here. Oh well, I will stick to trying to buy most of my booze out of state.

Just a note: this location gets crazy crowded before holidays. On thanksgiving, there was a line about 40 – 50 people long at about 6 pm, and before New Year’s they had that same line, with a line of 15 – 20 people outside.
That being said, they have three registers open and the line to actually get in the place was 5 minutes, and the long line inside was only another 10. So probably best to buy your liquor here earlier if you don’t want to wait.

Terrible layout, out of everything on sale, and teeny tiny red wine selection. Unless I’m desperate, I’m going to stick to the store on Columbus Drive — I don’t care that this store is only 2 blocks from where I live, it’s not worth the walk.

While I would be well into the negative stars were I to review the state-​controlled liquor store regulations as a whole, this review is specifically for my local store — the one on Fairmount.
As far as state stores go, the selection is average and the employees are nice — but my gripe is this: COOKED wine. What’s that, you might ask? It’s when the wine has been left in a hot environment for far too long, due to improper storage or transportation, and it gets brownish in color and sickly sweet. In a word — YUCK. On at least 3 different occasions I have taken my «boutique» 3L box of wine home from this store, only to find at first sip that it had been «cooked» and was undrinkable. And before you blame it on boxed wine quality in general, i can assure you that this wine had most certainly been cooked. It has a distinctive, heart-​sinking smell. And I’ve never run into this at any other state store location.
So hey there, Fairmount Wine and Spirits, listen up. You wouldn’t leave your puppy in a hot, unventilated storage room — don’t do it to your wine either! The stuff’s not cheap, and there’s no better way to anger customers than to deprive them of their booze. Until you learn, I will be frequenting the swanky store on Columbus Ave whenever possible.

Limited selection, especially if you were looking for a bottle above $ 15. I know it’s a small-​ish store, but it’s so frustrating to have to trek across the city when I need a bottle of wine that isn’t YellowTail and doesn’t come in a box. I was in here today and left without buying anything. Then I walked to the one on 17^th and Market, which wasn’t much better.
Agreed that the folks here are super nice. The rating is based on what’s on the shelves, or rather, what isn’t.

I like the manager here. He’s really nice. However, they close at 9pm. Get here before 8:58pm as they will NOT let you in at the said time. I’ve seen people begging, pleading and bribing the staff to get some booze.
Not a big fan of their esoteric wine selection. BUT it’s not too far from my place so this place serves its purpose in my book.

Nah, these folks don’t hate you, they’re just on the clock… Serviceable spirits, with the best selections being in bourbon and vodka, plus they’ll special order by the case for you — the manager is a nice guy.
Wines are not extensive, but there are some popular finds, and even some locals like Chads Ford Winery. Not an LCB premium store, but they’ll certainly get your party started.

I’ve been a few more times (I told you: it’s the only place up here to buy wine!) and it has to be said that most of the folks here aren’t unhelpful because they hate you, and some of them have pretty good knowledge about where things are in the chaos that is their store. If you have a little patience and you don’t act like you’re in there to buy a Château Montelena Cab, you’ll be fine.