Stewart’s Liquors

Sorry, but your last visit to Stewart’s Liquor was just that, or you missed the opportunity to encounter a Westchester fixture that’s on the doorstep of being a memory.
TriCal Construction of Marina del Rey reports it has received city approval to erect a 140-​unit residential complex (plus two commercial slots) at La Tijera Boulevard and 74^th Street. The corner lot, once home of a price-​gouging Shell gas station razed in 1987, was thereafter only used seasonally for pumpkin and Xmas tree sales. It was surrounded by a green privacy-​screen fence for most of this year before Stewart’s was recently boarded-​up.
Now the entire property is fenced, comprising a small Marie Callender’s restaurant, shuttered and languishing for about 15 years on the other side of Stewart’s, and a neighboring vacated barber shop, all destined for demolition. Fitting 140 apartments into the available acreage calls for five levels (four above-​ground), at least matching in height any existing mutifamily residential structure in Westchester.
Meanwhile, as the longest-​surviving tenant of the 74^th Street-​adjacent lot, Stewart’s had changed ownership since the 1980s salad days of the nice baldheaded man and his staff of energetic clerks who stocked the shelves and refrigerated cases with spirits, wines and beers.
It was a pricey liquor store then, but the staff knew the inventory and could offer helpful suggestions. More recently, the crew, inadvertently or not, might overcharge for a pomegranate ice tea whose price was clearly marked on the door in front of it. The store’s ultimate ambience was that of a convenience mart at a sketchy indie gas station.
Sometimes, being forced out of business bestows unwitting mercy on certain locally owned, independently operated merchants and their customers.

Nicest family owned business ever. Great selection of beers and wines. Great service and friendly people.

Watch out for big lotto days because the lines can be absurd, even if you are going in for a bottle of wine or some craft beer. They have a nice selection of both wine and beer and of course spirits.
The wine selection is above average for this type of liquor store. Some tasty finds and some truly odd stuff, and that is a total plus in my book.
The craft beer selection is not as groovy but is nonetheless modestly interesting. All the standards, but a there are a few interesting selections.
I’m not a big spirit guy so I’m not the guy to ask, but it looks like a decent selection.
Overall, if you are in search of that perfect bottle of wine Stewart’s might not be the spot. Now if you are late getting home and you need a bottle of wine to go with dinner, Stewart’s could be your ace in the hole.