Total Wine prepares for push into Pearland
Total Wine & More is planning its foray into Pearland’s untapped liquor market four months after residents there voted to expand alcohol sales within the city limits.
The company, which bankrolled the November ballot measure, is eyeing several potential locations and expects to open a store there within the next year. It is the first major liquor store to outline its plans for the area.
Total Wine entered the Houston market in October, challenging locally based Spec’s with an aggressive expansion plan. The national retailer has five locations in the area so far, and it expects to have as many as 12 within the next year.
“We will wear the badge of market disrupter,” said Edward Cooper, the company’s vice president for public affairs.
The company also funded a local option election to expand alcohol sales in Pearland to include take-home purchases. The ballot measure, which Cooper called a “substantial” financial investment,
opened the market to retailers selling packaged beer, wine and spirits.
Other liquor stores have already expressed interest in tapping a new source of demand. In January, Houston businessman Hiren Patel filed a permit application for a liquor store in the Food Town shopping center on West Broadway, and Costco filed an application with the state to sell alcohol at its store at 3500 Business Center Drive.
Martin Griggs, a senior planner with the city of Pearland, said Patel’s application is slated to go before the city council later this month. He added that the city has received applications for three locations along Broadway and one on Shadow Creek Parkway, but none has yet been approved.
Total Wine, which hasn’t yet filed an application with the city, is evaluating potential locations. The company typically occupies stores as large as 30,000 square feet that take months to build, Cooper said.
“We’re going to lock down (a lease) on the space and then move forward with all the other efforts,” he said.
Total Wine’s expansion in Pearland will put it head to head with Spec’s, which has a location on Pearland Parkway just outside the city limits. The familyrun business, which now has more than 160 stores throughout Texas, started in Houston in 1962.
Lisa Rydman, who handles marketing for Spec’s, said in an email that the company’s location near Pearland already serves that market. It doesn’t have further plans for the city at this point.
“As the hometown team, we think Pearland and Houston as a whole will decide to support the local family that’s been working with our community for almost 55 years,” Rydman said.
Total Wine, however, has greater ambitions in the Houston area. Cooper said the company sees potential for more stores in the market and plans to compete with low prices, wide selections and above average customer service.
“Competition is always good for the customer,” he said. “We want to be that destination.”