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Door-To-Door Booze Delivery A Thriving L.A. Business
Photo by skippyjon via Flickr
We're pretty darn lucky to live in a time booze can be delivered to your door at the drop of a dime. (It almost makes the atrocity that is Miley Cirus worth it. Almost.)
Though the idea of delivery services are commonly tied to cities like New York, the luxury of door-to-door delivery of alcohol is hardly a new thing here in Hollywood. For decades, liquor stores have brought booze to their local clientele, and it's even easier to do here in L.A. than it is in NYC. Though there are stores outside of Tinseltown, the ratio is particularly high there. According to the L.A. Times, within a 3-mile radius of the Hollywood & Highland Center are at least 10 stores that offer door-to-door alcohol delivery.
There's no real way to know just how many stores in L.A. offer these services though, as there's no special license is needed besides the liquor license for the business.
Companies like Pink Dot are modeling their booze delivery services off of liquor stores that have been dropping off cigarettes and alcohol to their customers for many years. And it's been a huge draw for their customers, keeping their businesses afloat during tough times.
Says the L.A. Times:
California is one of 18 states where the delivery of beer, wine and liquor is allowed with no restrictions. Nine states prohibit such deliveries. Even in New York, known for bringing almost anything to your doorstep, delivery of alcohol is restricted by quantity, and the delivery truck must be clearly marked. In the Hollywood area, stores such as Almor, Bogie's Liquor and Mel & Rose report that they make about 30 deliveries a day.
Pink Dot built their business off of this idea, and has 25 full-time employees on the case, driving around their eye-catching pink VW Bugs. They also deliver hot foods and groceries, but its bestsellers are liquor, cigarettes and condoms, according to its owner Sol Yamini.
The company has plans to expand to other parts of L.A. including the Valley and Downtown, and eventually they'd like to spread to San Francisco and San Diego.
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Of course, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has some concerns about these types of practices. Ensuring the buyer is of age can be a wishwashy process, and the delivery drivers aren't supposed to take cash on the spot, however they often do.
Services like these will come in handy during the New Years holiday too. It certainly makes party planning easier, and drunk driving less of a possibility. And that's always a good thing.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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