Premier Wine & Spirits — Restaurant in Town of Amherst

Premier is an oasis. No it's not- it's just too good to be true. But it's not, because it's real- it's really really real and now probably the only reason I'll find an excuse to make the trip from Toronto to Buffalo more often... Yes, being from YYZ I'm no stranger to being massively ripped off when it comes to booze... and more than that, to having a fairly limited selection of premium spirits at my disposal. LCBO is like some communist nightmare, while Premier is... well... America. I'd been frequenting the area for almost 20 years now, doing the classic Canadian rounds... Boulevard, Galleria, etc... yet somehow only just discovered Premier a couple weeks ago (despite it's immediate proximity to The Boulevard Mall). My obsession with whiskey is fairly new, but when I get into things, I go deep... and so after calling in to see if they had some impossible-to-find-in-Canada bottles and being assured they did (and even having them placed on hold), I made my first voyage to Premier just yesterday. It was glorious and truly overwhelming- in fact, I'm still processing it all. The sheer size is the first thing that hits you... it's like the size of a Best Buy... and it's all just booze. Trouble. Big trouble. I immediately knew I'd be spending way more than I anticipated, but fought hard to stick to the plan... only one slight deviation was made- and that's when I saw the had some EH Taylor in stock. I then asked to have a look in the vault, where the kindest and most gentlemen named Erik took a good 30+ minutes of his time to answer any and all of my whiskey-related questions, many of which I'm sure were annoyingly amateur. He suggested several great spirits, which I'll be sure to pick up over the course of my next several visits. They have Pappy/ORVW and most of the BTAC stuff, albeit at the unfortunate resale prices... still was a treat to see it in person, but sadly no closer to tasting that nectar of the gods. Before actually stepping foot in the store I thought maybe if I established a good enough rapport with the shop (via many higher end purchases), which I still absolutely will, that I'd have a chance at some Pappy in the future, but doesn't seem likely given the size of the place. Still, Pappy wasn't the reason I went... unparalleled selection- makes an LCBO a downright joke- with mostly great prices. Some of the single malts were actually priced higher- significantly higher in some cases- than back home in YYZ, which I was surprised by... but all in all quite good prices. Mostly it comes down to the fact that I'm able to get things here that I can't get in Ontario and that's reason enough for me to make the trip, regardless of prices. I am committed to the cause. I'll be going back in a couple weeks to further expand the collection and sample some great new spirits. All the staff were over-the-top friendly and helpful. Can't wait to go back! This is mecca...

I went into premier with my sister and two brothers, my brothers are Asian American while my sister and I are African American. We are all apart of the same family and share the same blood. One of my brothers is 18 however by premier policy as long as the minor is attended with legal guardians we are fine. (There is no written policy about a 24hr hold and upon requesting to see this policy it could not be provided to us)

As we were checking out, two of the premier employees told us we cannot make our purchase AND we are going to be on a 24hr hold of purchase (without taking our information in any way other than looking at the birthdate) because we had a minor with us that THEY assumed was not related to us. We then questioned how do you know we are not his guardians, there are children all over this store with their adults however they are all white. The only people of color in the store at the time were the employees and us 4.

They continued to tell us it's store policy to be on a 24hr hold, but couldn't provide us with the policy written, they told us "it doesn't have to be written it's just how things are", after making it very clear we feel we are being discriminated against and we would like their names, the general manager Katherine Able, informed us she doesn't know the names of the other employees. Alexis, one that was involved refused to give us her last name and the other employee, the cashier refused to give us her name. They asked for our names and we provided it to them at the beginning of our altercation multiple times however they did not remember. I have been an avid shopper at premier living in Buffalo for 4yrs and shopping there since my 21st birthday, my sister being 41yrs old and my two brothers being 21 and 18.

Overall, we acknowledge the policy of a minor needing to be accompanied however all 3 employed Mrs. Able, Alexis, and the Cashier ALL made the situation extremely racially bias in our eyes, they could not provide us with the policies they were constantly referring too, only the ones that were on the register and at the entrance which were hidden and not noticeable unless pointed at. I feel belittled and reminded of the racial indifference, these three employees felt simply because of a skin color difference that we are not related and quiet frankly, I am disgusted that this behavior is still happening in 2019. I will no longer be shopping at premier...

I'd like to start by stating that I have never felt more dismissed and rejected by a business in my life! I went to Premier on Maple at 5:57pm looking for one specific kind of wine. I was told by Zach that they close at 6pm in which I responded "great because I know what am here for". From one business owner to another, I would NEVER rush a customer. - All business is welcome! Not to mention, I spend well over thousands of dollars yearly on gifts and spirits for events and my own personal use. I've been a long time customer of Premier! Anyways, Zach walked me back to what he believed was the right kind of wine, in which it was not. You guys have the wine that I was looking for the locked in the room (the same room I spent over 10k in). My intentions were to buy a half case but Zach lied to me and said that he did not have it in stock yet. I confirmed that you guys did on Friday. I informed Zach that it was in the room that we were standing 2 feet away from. He then continued to remind me that you guys close at 6pm and I should come back the next day. I quickly reminded him that regardless, I am a paying customer and that I am in the store looking to spend my money. I then asked two more times to go into the room to grab the wine and he made up more excuses and said to "take it up with the cashier, sorry we're short staffed and want to get out of here". Not sure if that's company policy but I am certain that an additional 2 minutes and hundreds of more dollars in the register would not ruin the rest of the four other advisors that watched on weekend. I am sure that the owners of premier do not carry themselves in this manner! I am so flabbergasted right now! Not to mention, another representative gladly helped a customer (that doesn't look like me)that walked in right behind me. Three bottles of wine and 5 minutes later, she walked out a happy customer. Interesting! Leave the paying customer out of it, a business should not be ran like this! In my business, I celebrate and praise my employees that go the extra mile for the customer! Those are my current leaders and future managers! Please feel free to reach out for more...