Big Top

Big Top is heaven on earth. No disrespectful to Big Top intended. It’s like the Disneyland of liquor stores. It could be considered a destination liquor store for vacationers. The selection is so vast, I started to mentality brake down after 6 hours in the beer section and actually dropped to the fetal position for few minutes. The workers were so nice when they helped me back to my feet. They even had a police officer check to insure I was okay. Awesome customer service!!! All other liquor stores simply fail to compare. If you know live in the Continental US, don’t waste your time shopping anywhere else, it’s worth the drive.

Really decent prices and a big selection. Friendly staff. Their only downside is some shady folks hang around outside (the whole shopping center is creepy as all getout) but always super close parking.

I don’t feel safe going here. The last time I went, I was rudely bumped into by two men, when there was plenty of room around me. Another man looked me up and down and said «Hey honey, what’s your name?» Also, when I got outside, a man started following me closely asking for money. I have never been harassed like that, and I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I should mention this all occurred during the daytime. The positives are that they have a good selection, good prices, and nice employees, but I will not be going back anymore because of the people who loiter in and around the store.

Big Top has a great selection of beer, wine and liquor and is easy to navigate. They always have great deals on various wine bottles which is fun if you want to try out some new kinds!!! They have a large parking lot and a convenient location near Snelling and university, not always the safest place to roam the streets but the people who work here are nice and I’ve never run into any problems!

Pros:
Excellent people-​watching. Right in the heart of the Midway neighborhood – the staff no longer bat an eye at the array of characters who come strolling through the door.
Good prices. The only place I’ve found better prices consistently is Costco, which is out of my way for quick liquor store runs.
The cashiers ALWAYS check your ID when you pay with a credit card. As a two-​time victim of identity theft, I appreciate this a lot.
Great samples on the weekend.
Huge selection – it’s a massive store.
Cons:
it’s right in the heart of the Midway neighborhood – so there’s a St. Paul police officer on perma-​doorman duty on the weekends, ostensibly to keep underage people out, but probably more to dissuade robbery/​violence/​etc. I imagine he has some good stories to tell.
Related to above point – I consistently can count on street harassment or at least some overtures of inappropriateness (even when I’m with my children) regardless of the time of day. (Guy last week, as I struggled to fold up a stroller and put it in the back of my van: «Hey mama, you need any help manipulating that back seat? [snicker]»).
Lots of staff turnover, so the service can be hit or miss.
All the same, I’m glad this store survived the light rail project.

Hi, Ms. Officer
Just here to get my Night Train
Serious riff raff
Big Top is more on my beaten track than Surdyk’s. Selection here is nearly as good as at Surdyk’s, but far superior to it if you are on a budget. It will fulfill all your bum wine and malt liquor needs, and leave you with a little more guap in your pocket no matter what you are buying. Just be prepared to feel like you are going to an ATM in Cancun off of the tourist drag when you are walking in after dark. They keep the security tight! 5 – 0 duty after after dusk.
Heard a guy singing (LOUDLY) to himself this evening. No big deal for anyone there. Saw lots of wife-​beater T-​shirts on heavily tattooed dudes (not that there is anything wrong with that, just an observation). Got nostalgic for the cars from the late 80’s and early 90’s in the parking lot. Also, saw some new Audis and Infinitis. Interesting mix. Saw some serious rapport between the clerks and their regulars. All moved peacefully. The policewoman most assuredly helped in that regard. Got my fix and got the F-​OUT.

I boycotted this place for years after some shady treatment around a keg purchase in the 1990’s. Because I am the forgiving sort, I decided to let bygones be bygones and checked the old place out.
Some things are the same: rundown physical plant, «interesting» clientele, one of St. Paul’s finest serving as a door greeter… and…Some amazing deals on beer, wine and booze. What’s different: a very strong craft/​import beer selection. Something decent is always on sale, at a very nice price.
Big Top, all is forgiven.

This is such a random liquor store in such a random location but I love it! They have just about everything! I got my signature drink and my friends got theirs including wine, hard liquor, and beer. It was a fun shopping experience and you’ll know what I mean when you go there. I’d definitely come here again if I’m in the area.

Great selection and great prices, all the time. Friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff. I don’t see why anyone would buy else where.

Just get your booze here.
Reasons to love Big Top:
Huge Selection
Way cheap
Always a sale
Half priced bottles of wine and often liquors
Cop
Email List
Jel Shot. Don’t ask, just get it, I promise it will be one hell of an experience.
Friendly and weird staff
Probably the best people watching in the metro area.

What doesn’t this place carry? It has everything that you can imagine from a huge variety of beer to wine to hard liquor. The prices are very reasonable and they usually have everything in stock, even some stuff you didn’t think anyone carried. Make sure you have your id card in hand because it’s the first thing you need to give the employee or police (wknds) once you enter the store. If you are unsure of what to get when it comes to wine the staff are quite surprisingly very knowledgeable and will be able to give some good recommendations.
Besides getting booze to carry you over through the wknd or just a really long week, you will also get to enjoy some good people watching. If this part peaked your interest then I would suggest going there on a Friday night or Saturday evening.
Great prices. Close proximity. Win-​win situation for me :)

Big top is one of the best liquor stores in the county and possibly the world. Huge selection, probably the biggest in the area. They also have some cool stuff going on for deals. If you subscribe to their email list, you can get a really good deal emailed to you every Tuesday. The deal is only good for that day. Also a lot of people don’t know they have a wine club too and host events every couple of months.

this place typically has garbage and dirt flying around the parking lot — it is a big open building with steel shelving and bright lighting to highlight all the shady looking people shopping there and the shabby look of the inside… prices are not low enough for me to justify the shortcomings of this place.

On a day I felt like I was a giant fuck-​up who couldn’t get anything done in life, I rolled to the Big Top.
I had many decisions to make, but now it seemed like whatever I did was the right thing. All this tasty liquor at appealing prices that I could take home for immediate consumption. Several genius ideas sprang to mind and there, before me, my ideas were brought to reality in a glorious manifestation. I wished for Tilburg’s Dutch Brown Ale and it was there, at a price I didn’t hesitate to pay. I took home one bottle of whisky, whispering promises to the others that I’d return another day.
Usually I have problems making decisions. At the Big Top all I do is win.

With Big Top’s Wallmart-​esque lighting schema and mandatory St. Paul Police Department carding policy at the door, it doesn’t seem like a place that would sell a good variety of drinkable wines from California, South America, Europe, New Zealand/​Australia. However, look no further if in search of a daily drinking wine!
No outlet, not even the warehouse clubs, can beat the BT sales. Furthermore, you can pay with a credit card unlike some other discount liquor stores around town. Spend the money you save on buying new wine racks to store your impressive collection.
Charming corner wine shops have their place in the retail market, and this is not necessarily a place you are going to get a great recommendation for a wine pairing for the fancy dinner you are making at home with your friends. This is also not the best place to but a $ 40 – 50 bottle. But if you are charmed most by the value for decent quality, look no further. Also, get on their mailing list and get extra special deals on Tuesdays!

Yeah I like this place. They have got a good selection and fair prices.
Big place with plenty of room and parking available outside.
Check out is fast and easy.
Stop by and check them out for your party supplies-​then invite me over to help you consume your new stash!

Reasons for 5 stars:
BEEEEEEER
WWIIIINE
HARD STUFF
MIXERS
RED BUUUUULLLLLLL!!!
I also love trying out the beer of the month for 9.99.
If I didn’t live 4 blocks from Big Top I would definitely drive/​bike at least 10 or 12 to get there.
Be sure to swoosh some mouthwash around in your mouth before you go in. They WILL NOT sell to you if you’re already drunk*
*unless you’re a regular ;)

I’ve been going to Big Top for years, on and off, and over the past year or two, they have really improved their selection, making them one of the top liquor stores in the Twin Cities. Microbrews, Macrobrews, Imports and Domestics. Large Wine Selection. Large selection of liquors. Even a large selection of 40s and malt liquor, for those of us with discerning tastes (I once went there and bought 20 different 40s for a party, and that wasn’t even their entire selection!)
The midway shopping center is pretty ghetto, and getting carded as you walk in by a cop isn’t exactly inviting, but for the wide array of boozes they offer, it’s worth it!

Big, Busy, and Helpful!
So I walk into Big Top today, looking confused. There is a sea of wine and booze and beer and I can never remember where to find anything, except the Miller’s Lite.
Immediately I’m asked by the very helpful guy who has helped me many times before. Here are some of our exchanges,
Me: «Do you have Black Box wine?»
Him: «Absolutely, right here. Plus there’s a rebate up front. Check it out.»
Me: «Can you help me find Old Vine Red?»
Him: «Sure, it’s right here and it’s my favorite.»
Monday is 10% off all wine.
Checkout is quick and they usually have taste testings.
They have more selection than a certain chain and are more helpful than that certain chain.
If you’re in the area, check it out. You can find everything from 40’s to top shelf liqour.
I’m never disappointed.

Alright, I’ll get in line for Big Top.
This place, seriously, has it all.
Go here and buy ridiculously cheap wine. I’m not even sure how many hours of my life I spent in front of their beer case, asking myself the age-​old question: EPA or IPA? Such is life I suppose. But whichever one you choose they’ve got great deals, even if you’re looking a little lower on the shelf (Big Sky, etc.).
The ambiance, that’s another issue. Nestled in the heart of the midway, this is where all the freaks come out to play.
I remember one time a panhandler was camped outside the front door. «Excuse me sir, got a dollar for bus fare?» And as I usually do, I gave him the only dollar I had left in my wallet. «Thank you sir.»
Not really thinking twice, I went inside and began my mental wrestling match (EPA vs. IPA). Still in a daze, I walked up to the counter, and who was in line before me but this same panhandler I had just given a dollar to outside. He slid his colt 45 tall boy across the counter and there it was, my dollar, almost smiling at me from the checkout girl’s hand, as if to say, «you did a good thing today Danny.»
And in what was previously an uneventful day, I felt I had, at least marginally, contributed to the overall decline of society. Way to go me.

Anything you are looking for, they pretty much have it. Czechvar beer, because Pilsner Urquell no longer actually imports from Czech Republic. I think they even had some obscure Croatian beers. I go into sensory overload when I enter this circus of liquor.