Alvin's Wine & Spirits — Local services in Lawrence

NO ZERO TO CHOOSE FROM FOR A SCORE. This is my first review EVER! Five BAD bottles of wine and accosted by one RUDE owner ..... later.... I am completely floored at how rude the owner of this store is. Background: I had purchased 3 bottles of red wine over the course of the last 5 years, each of which was bad, and had one bottle of white and another red given to me by friends who had stopped at Alvin’s on the way to my house .. both had also turned and were not drinkable. My friends were embarrassed and apologized profusely. I tried to take the $25 bottle that I bought back to the store, again because it had turned, and not only did the ‘kids’ working behind the counter refuse to refund me, they could’ve cared less. So I had not bought wine at Alvin’s for years. I was in Alvin’s store on Aug 25 2018 to buy a certain rum that CITY WINE MARKET (best place ever!) did not have. I picked up a bottle of red wine that was on sale. I went to the counter and very politely asked how long the wine had been on sale and whether they’d had any complaints about it turning. I was not aware that I was talking to the owner. He proceeded to attack me verbally. He was adamant that no wine in his store had ever turned. I explained my story about having received and bought several bad bottles of wine from his store and I was not trying to be rude but I just wanted to be assured that if I bought this bottle of wine it would be good. He got incredibly belligerent with me, called me a liar and started to brag about how he has an excellent taste in wine and has received extensive training on tasting and choosing wine. Doubtful. He said that he thought my taste buds must just be really bad and I did not know what I was talking about. I could not believe it.He then refused to sell me anything and told me to get out. The owner of this store is rude, defensive, and could care less about you or the substandard and bad product he is selling. Buyer be aware. If you want an excellent selection of wine, and you prefer not to shop at a dump or give business to an angry sweaty guy, go to CITY WINE or Sixth Street Liquors. Both have very professional and knowlegable staff, with clean and...

My sister-in-law was getting married this past weekend, and a couple hours before the rehearsal dinner, I suggested getting some beer for the dinner. Little did I know how hard it would be to find a place that back stocked kegs, let alone pony kegs of local Free State beer. After calling 7 or 8 other liquor stores, I called alvin's and lough and behold they had one of the two specific beers I was looking for back stocked. I was able to substitute on the second. The gentlemen at the counter seemed friendly enough and we were in and out in under 20 minutes (this includes all the paperwork and a trip next door to The Merc's ATM as the store doesn't have one) Also they only accept cash or check for their keg and tap deposits, just a head's up. i greatly enjoy craft beers and their selection is probably one of the best I've seen in Lawrence so far, I'm sure there are other gems I have yet to discover. Also they have this dangerous stuff called not your grandfathers root beer. Came with high recommendations and said recommendations are well deserved. Stronger than a typical beer ABV-wise and tastes just like a plain old root beer. All in all a pleasant experience, no crazy managers to be seen. I return the kegs later today, will post again if anything goes haywire with...

This place failed on all accounts. No one ever greeted us when we entered, nor asked if we needed any help finding anything. So, we were left to our own devices to find anything. It seemed as if both of the people working in the store were more interested in their watching their football game, as evidenced by their moans and groans and exhortations, than assisting their customers. Then, when we checked out, I had to ask for a sack because we had 3 items, and a grocery bag from Hy-Vee, to carry. It never dawned on the person to offer any assistance. Finally, we purchased a $50+ bottle of Crown Royal which prominently displayed a rebate form on the front of the bottle. Unfortunately, after we peeled off the rebate form, we learned we needed an itemized listing, which they did not give us. When I called, they said, "Well, you can bring it back in and we can see if we can find it." I was there once, and do not intend to...