Municipal liquor manager Chris Levine reports sales shifts, inventories and a near-$28,000 July 4 weekend

Chris Levine, the municipal liquor representative, told the work session the store has tightened inventory categories and leaned into scheduled tastings and brand events to reach more customers during busy periods.

"We have each brand has a brand representative and they come up and do the tastings," Levine said, describing how breweries and brand managers run in-store sampling to promote new products.

Levine said changes in product mix have been notable. "Castle Danger beers were down, like, 40%," he said, and added that other products such as Ursa Minor and Bell's have replaced some of that volume. He attributed some shifts to changing tastes and to the recent emergence of THC-packaged products, which he said have grown for some manufacturers.

Levine discussed classification and reporting improvements after reworking the stores inventory categories. He said moving from broad groups to finer subcategories (for example: Minnesota craft, import, specific wine varietals) makes growth and decline figures more accurate. "A lot of those [sales] were probably just other sales," he said of apparent beer growth that inventory recategorization explained.

On peak sales, Levine said the larger store has a much higher ceiling. He reported that total store sales for the July 4 weekend were "Almost 28,000," calling it a record day and noting the new store can reach higher peaks even though slow-season floor sales remain low.

Levine also described marketing and web efforts: staff are planning a website and Molly is assisting with the launch; brand managers often organize tasting promotions directly with breweries rather than through the distributor. He said staff are tracking inventory more closely after learning which subcategories to prioritize during different parts of the year.

The update ended with members thanking Levine for the report; no formal action was taken on liquor operations during the work session.