By Marcus Kohl Santa Monica
(Re: “It’s bougie, not boozy in Ocean Park neighborhood,” Jan. 10) In particular to the Star Liquors, I am not so sure about their competition. The regular clientele of Star Liquors are: Homeless deadbeats, a guy just wanting a six-pack and a bag of Cheetos, a hard-core alcoholic, a few guys who just got off construction work, and a lot of beach people in shorts and no shirts.
Now, do you think a person looking for culture and cheese and “education” about wines and the wine-making process is going to be such a competition?
Put it this way: The homeless wino will have another place to beg in front of in Santa Monica too!
So there are three liquor stores, two of which don't speak English nor talk to you and one that refuses change for anything … like the car wash! And all of them look at customers like the enemy.
Hmm… a nice upscale wine bar? Sure. But, hey, the hotels sell wine and have a bar. Maybe they should have a voice too. Maybe they could call up Arnold (Schwarzenegger) and pass him a couple of million and they can shut a nice wine bar down like they stopped the cost of living wage.
Maybe if we had had the cost of living wage we could have bought more beer at Star Liquor. Maybe Star Liquor caters to the quick-fix scenario of drunk before 7 a.m. and 2 a.m., and the wine and cheese bar is looking for the culture of the wine connoisseur and “educated.”
Maybe Santa Monica should be all liquor stores up and down the strip.
Should I go on?
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 12, 2008. Read the original PDF.