Armanetti's -- gone

That was a good read.

However, there is no way that BAs had enough influence to put the store over the edge, and even if well treated, a customer owes no allegiance to any particular store. Mistreated, what would you expect? Still, even if BA's rallied against this place, it would have amounted to HUNDREDS of dollars a month. You can't have a retail store that is make-or-break in that kind of bandwidth. If you're a couple hundred in the black each month, you are GOING to fail.

 

Sorry for your friend's loss, I wouldn't wish ill will on anyone. But, I don't think it is fair to blame the beer community for the failure of this store, from a couple threads from a few years ago. Heck, I even went to the store after the threads, thinking it couldn't be that bad, but had weird experiences on two of two trips, so never went back. Anyway, I don't think we even know why the store closed, as someone posted a link they found on the State of Illinois website, that they had lost their liquor license, so it has all been speculation at this point, but blaming Ba doesn't make sense. Cheers

 

I went to the store one time and was treated like I had just rang the doorbell during thanksgiving dinner. In fact, after that experience I googled the store to see what was up with the employees and I discovered this website among hordes of bad reviews. Tell your friend that if he wants to succeed in a customer service oriented business he has to treat people with civility.

 

I personally liked Steve but his employees were the ones who steered me the wrong way a few times(my own fault for not doing my research). And yes, he was always cool with my 4yo when we came in. So what exactly is the story behind the downfall?

 

Best thing I've read on this site. Ever. Thanks.

 

What a weird thread. What ever happened to personal responsibility? I never went there, but you even admit he was rude (or “brutal” as you put it) to customers. Why is he entitled to run a beer store and be rude to people? A satisfied customer tells 3 people while an unsatisfied customer tells 10.

Isn’t this site about sharing experiences, both good and bad? Very few stores have a selection good enough to truly set themselves apart from their competition. Why make it harder with crappy service? I think you are looking in the wrong place for blame and to throw out veiled threats.

 

From your second paragraph:

From your last paragraph:

So which is it? Everything said about him was true or he was sabotaged? You can't have it both ways. Seems to me Steve sabotaged himself. If he hadn't treated people the way he did, there wouldn't have been such a strong negative reaction to him online. And lest you think this is limited to BA, you may want to take look at the Armanetti's reviews on Yelp.
If the point of your post was to drum up sympathy, I fear you may have come to the wrong place.

 

Again, I was always a fan of this store and made it my go to after many years in the area.
Very sad to see it go.
Actually kind of screwed;-/

I won't get into the negatives as I didn't know Steve enough, but every time I was in there at random day time hours he was ALWAYS friendly, almost to much so.
There was a BA member on here that really filled me in on Steve's ways and what to expect and I did take it 100% into consideration if I ever did run into him face to face, which in the end I did...A LOT!
We shot the shit kinda talk.
I don't think he really knew his beers like we all do, but he at least tried, and their newsletters were the absolute MUST to what was coming out on the scene, for me at least.

Regardless of the ways the rare beer was treated, myself even a few times, I don't look down upon Steve or Armanettis.
Personally, I think it was the best liquor store in Chicago, shoot me.
Obviously I live in the area, nothing even comes CLOSE to what was once Armanettis on Lincoln, sigh.

 

West Lakeview blew this place to shreds, and that's during closed hours.

 

Coming from someone who had never been to the store but heard the rumors this is my opinion. I work in the industry as well and I am a beer guy. What I also am is a people person. There is no excuse for poor customer service. I do not wish ill will on anyone but you cannot be rude to customers and expect to succeed. Hope this guy lands on his feet.

 

you are HIGH.
I am not gonna get into it man.

 

Hmm, let's review.

Steve: Egomaniacal owner who has an obsession with he word "rare" because it means more cash in his pocket. Can't treat the majority of his clientele with a basic amount of human dignity. Did I mention his ridiculous prices? And lack of basic respect for a good portion of his customer base?

Kristina: Known worldwide as one of the best beer stores open today. Mikkeller made a beer for her and showed up to hang out. She throws ridiculous free events on a regular basis and asks for nothing in return. Regularly carries hard to find bottles at a decent price. Oh, and they treat customers with respect.

You're right, let's not get into it man.

 

I subscribed to the newsletter but never actually set foot in the store. I read a story on here a few months back about a 3pm rare release that seemed to be either severely mishandled, or completely bogus, and therefore (being from the burbs) figured this would not be the place to go to secure any rare releases. Not to mention the raffle system going on recently, which to me basically guarantees that me, a non-regular, will not score anything.

However I always had to wonder how it was that this Armanetti's was always able to get stuff first, the day before any Binny's would get it.

 

Exactly, I cannot win.
You told me, as I knew you would.

My opinion of a place, you have to go overboard.

WLV I walked out of yet again today, fuck their Milkkeler deal.
They don't have NEARLY the selection of LOCAL craft beer Armanettis once did outside of Pipeworks.
I can't go in their on the reg and buy a normal 4-6 pack out of the cooler, as their selection is HORRIBLE.

Lets not get into their old beer on the shelf....

 

Dude what other breweries do you want them to carry? You can get a cold sixer pretty much anywhere, especially of Goose Island. The only other Chicago local breweries that put out 4 packs are Half Acre, which is like, 5 minutes from WLV, and Finch's (and why would you want them to carry Finch's)? I guess Two Brothers probably also counts, but WLV carries Pipeworks, which is one of the best things to happen to local Chicago beer recently and which counts for a lot. The last time I was at WLV my buddy walked out with a six-pack of Zombie Dust without having to ask for them to haul it out of the back room or go through any hassle or bullshit lottery system to get it. It's a tiny place with really limited space, so of course they're not gonna fill their fridges up with six packs of beer you can get anywhere; it's not the place to go for that so if you want a six pack of GI IPA you're just in the wrong store. The point of the store is to have a really small but well-curated selection of single bottles, and for what they're trying to do they do an excellent job. Also, in my experience WLV has really friendly customer service and fair prices. I just don't see what you could knock about the place.

 

If I'm reading beernightscout's post correctly, he's suggesting that certain people on this site went out of their way to get Armanetti's in trouble with the state liquor commission. The other thread that exists about Armanetti's includes a reference to how liquor stores can string wine distributors along and implies that Armanetti's was guilty of this behaviour. Unless I'm mistaken, however, no one has been able to drum up anything specific.

While there is an undeniable feeling of wanting to kick someone when he's down here, I know I'm more curious in the actual facts of what happened. It's pretty hard to have your liquor license revoked (provided, say, you aren't doing something stupid like selling to minors).

Having said this, posts on EveryBlock suggest that Evolution is set to move in:
Just an update I walked by this morning and the name on the new liqour application is Evolution Wine and Spirits. It is dated 3/30/2012, which is kinda strange because the court notice is dated in May, so obvioulsy they knew what was coming and sold out before then.
There are also a number of signs that say the business will be occupied by Armanetti's until July 8th. Although nothing is inside.

 

Information for licensee

License No. 12-1A- 50009
Doing Business As: ARMANETTI WINE SHOPPE
Activity Code: REVOKED
License Class: RETAILER
Expiration Date: 1/31/2013
Address
3530-3534 N LINCOLN AVE
1ST FLOOR
CHICAGO , IL 60657

http://www.state.il.us/lcc/license_info.asp?lno=121A 50009
http://www.state.il.us/lcc/tdq.asp

Who knows why, but the license was definitely revoked. The Illinois Liqour Commission is not a fake website.

Who knows what they did? There are lots of ways to get your license revoked. They just don't walk in the door and take it away, there are numorous warnings and fines before it is revoked.

 

I drove by yesterday and a new place is moving in....anyone have details?

 

It's definitely Evolution, it's already on their website as "Coming Soon"