Liquor Sales Spike During Ole Miss Vs. Bama Weekend

Joel Tatum of Star Package Store knows that Game-Day weekends in Oxford are all about being sure you don’t end up shorthanded, especially for the Alabama vs. Ole Miss game.

“Two years ago when we played them here, that was one of the biggest weekends that we’ve ever had in 24 years of business,” Tatum said. “It’s probably going to be even bigger this weekend.”

Just last weekend Tatum sold out of a Grove favorite, Tito’s Vodka.

“Last week, we got in 388 cases,” he said. “I try to keep a bunch of extra back stocked, but we still ran out of Tito’s and we had six or seven cases in the back.”

For this week, Tatum has ordered almost double what he ordered for the first home game of the season.

Although every Ole Miss fan enjoys a Rebel victory, liquor store owners are keeping their fingers crossed for the win even more so. With every win, liquor store owners can anticipate a larger crowd for the next home game. As more and more people flood the streets of Oxford, owners are enjoying a massive boost in sales.

Leonard Rockette, owner of Leonardo’s Wine & Spirits, said nothing compares to the sales he makes when Ole Miss takes on Alabama, LSU or Texas A&M at home.

“You have Alabama, you go up. The numbers are off the chart,” Rockette said. “I’m expecting the doors to be blown off (for the Alabama game). As a matter of fact, I got my second cash register ready to go… I’ve got extra people coming in to work. Fridays here will be off the chain.”

David, manager of Poppa’s Wine & Spirits, said last weekend, he doubled his shipment order compared to average weekends in Oxford. For this weekend, he tripled his order.

“It’s always a Crapshoot. You never know what to bring in, but you’re confident you will sell it,” David said.

Just last weekend, David said by 10:38 a.m. the Friday before Game Day, he had already sold over half of his total sales from the day before.

“For Alabama, our sales will probably quadruple a normal day,” David said.

Henry Tilkinton, president of Better Brands Distributing Company, knows all about the shipment increase for Alabama week.

“A typical ball game is going to give us a 1,000 case lift. We will sell 1,000 extra cases in Oxford on a typical weekend,” Tilkinton said. “For this game coming up, it’ll be that and then some.”

Tilkinton said the company brings in about two and a half times the amount of alcohol for game day weekends. But this September is already above sales from last September.

“We’re about eight to 10 percent up,” he said. “For us, home games at the first part of the year are naturally much better than a cold game in November. The weather is not a factor, so people come out earlier and stay longer.”

Randall Haley is the managing editor for HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at randall.haley@hottytoddy.com.

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