Minute Shops Liquor & Deli

I came in looking for fortified wines (hobo wines) like MD ²⁰⁄₂₀ and Cisco but alas they didn’t have any. To be honest, I couldn’t find that anywhere in this part of North County (PM me if you know of a place). The lady behind the counter was friendly and she did show me the isle of real wines they had.
After perusing their selection, I did come across a few hard ciders I’ve never seen before. I picked one up for a New Years Toast at home.
— Parking lot is odd, but usable.
— Nudie magazines on the endcap. A bit awkward

I’ve read a few of the previous reviews and first things first: the name of the place is Minute Shops Liquor Store. Your expectations should be minimal here, people.
You know full well, that unless there’s some incredible diamond-​in-​the-​rough service oriented cashier on duty, your experience, at best will be forgettable, but will more likely include some mild unpleasantness.
Look at the name of the place, now look at the bars on the window, see the terribly designed parking spaces. They’ve made it all too clear who they are and what they’re about. «We’re a ghetto liquor store!» is what all those things scream. And there is nothing wrong with that.
They sell liquor, they’ve got a captive local market, and they really don’t care what anyone thinks. This «we don’t care» attitude can be successful in only one niche of the retail and service sector: wine and spirits. And what do you know, that’s exactly the niche the owners of Minute Shops have chosen! They win, Unilocal reviews be damned.
Look, the people that work here are cool, as long as you come in more than once every July for opening week of the Del Mar Races. Admittedly, the snack selection sucks and I don’t know who in the world buys X-​rated magazines anymore but this store sure seems committed to that demographic. Gotta respect the loyalty there.
Minute Shops gets a four star because, more often than any other retail store that I know of, they sell Pliny the Elder double IPA by Russian River Brewery.
One case a month.
They limit the purchases and keep the price as low as possible ($ 9.99). This isn’t just some beer snobbery spilling over into Unilocal reviews. I don’t even like beer, but that stuff is incredible. Never heard of it? That’s what the Internet is for, friend.
Maybe the best tasting beer in the world.
Anyway, Minute Shops Liquor is fine for what it does. If you don’t like ghetto style liquor stores, there’s a Bevmo right up the way.
Happy drinking!
–Justin

A semi-​dumpy convenience store with a medium sized, but neglected craft beer selection.
The selection here does have enough interesting beer to make a quick stop by not a complete waste. They have Pizza Port cans, some new releases from Lagunitas, lots of weird stuff from Weins bombers to old beers you can’t find anymore like Decadence 2012 and some dusty 750s of Lost Abbey. Some of the fridges had a condensation problem causing the bottom rows of bottoms to soak in an unknown filth. Didn’t buy anything so unclear of pricing. But maybe one day you’ll find a gem in here since it doesn’t look like craft beer nerds raid it often.

This the ONLY, ONLY liquor store in Solana Beach and if you want a bottle of Bourbon Rye its here or BevMo and BevMo is over mile walk towards the I-​5. I had already planned that after I left the track to pick up a bottle of Bourbon for the train back to LA. Although the other reviews weren’t that great, I didn’t want to walk (stagger) a couple of miles and possible miss my train. I guess that’s were they got the inspiration for their name, they are a block from the train station. They had Bulleit Rye for $ 29.99, eight more bucks than BevMO. Its a liquor store and the first three rules of real estate are location, location, location. The surly woman wasn’t there but a nice friendly guy. Most of the place is beer and wine. The snack isle is paltry and did see a deli but I really wasn’t look for it.

I buy wine there occasionally and found the selection very good in both red and white and the price reasonable. Mainly shop my brand of cigarettes there and cannot beat the price anywhere. They (almost) always in stock so when I have to buy elsewhere, it puts a big dent in the pocket. The service is great and have always liked everyone who has worked there.

Extremly rude. terrible service was helped today by a desperate middle aged blonde women who was flirting with two men in line ahead of me after they left her dimenor immediately changed didn’t say one word to me except the price of the ice cream. I couldn’t believe how inhumane she was acting I will never be returning to such a horrible place ever agian.

Despite my low rating, I must admit their selection of tobacco is fantastic. They have a decent sized cigar humidor and tons of cigarettes for any price range (everything from cheap Pyramids to high end Dunhills and Nat Shermans). They even had brands I have never heard of (which is very rare for me).
The store was actually really nice, until I spoke with the cashier… The first thing I noticed was her complete lack of interest in me, the customer. I noticed that people ahead of me in line were anxiously waiting as she took way too long to assist each customer. She was on her phone the entire time too! As if the customer service couldn’t get worse, she rejected my ID! I guess she thought I looked too young but I had a valid California ID which stated my birthday and that I was 18. On the way out she yelled at me to «read a f**king legal dictionary.» It was by far the worst customer service I have ever experienced from any store ever. I really hope that she gets fired for A, being incredibly rude to customers and B, for not understanding the law (which for someone who sells alcohol and tobacco is pretty important!!!).
It’s sad because the place actually has a great selection. If they just improved their customer service I would go there everyday! Thankfully I found a Cigar shop in The Flower Hill Mall on Via De La Valle called Liberty Tobacco. That place is way better! They have a decent selection of cigarettes (mostly high end brands but they have Marlboro and American Spirit). They’re cigar selection is fantastic! The service there is incredible everyone is super funny and nice and unlike the cashier at this place, the guys at Liberty will get up the second they see you come in and see if you need help. You can also smoke inside the store!
To wrap this review up, I leave you with these final words…
To the woman who humiliated me and insulted me, my advice to you; FIND ANOTHER LINE OF WORK!!!

I bought ice cream and a mega millions ticket. I had to remind the cashier that I bought a ticket as he was happy to send me on my way without handing me my ticket.
I didn’t hear a new one printed out so he may pull that stunt frequently?
My ice cream was soup.
Unless I win Mega Millions I won’t be returning.