Swan Ave. Market and Café

9/12/2007 9:36:24 PM, wednesday, september 12, 2007 [ Updated saturday, december 15, 2007 ]
Very Un-Excellent Place. This is tucked into an interesting little spot very close to right down town. There is a very nice selection here approaching maybe Total Wine. I liked seeing all the Fuller’s Vintage Ales on hand. If an ’05 or earlier vintage was still around I certainly wouldn’t have walked out of there empty handed. I have a couple of problems with this place that will prevent me from purchasing beer here. The biggest is the crazy high prices and the other is that lots of bottles appear to be in direct view of the big front window and therefore subject to beer killing UV sunlight. One of the biggest price shockers was with the DFH high gravity brews. They have 120 Min, WWS and Raisin D Extra at (no joke) $12.99 per 12oz bottle (WHAT!!!). You can still get these for $8.99 or $9.99 around town. In fact I saw a bunch of Raisin D Extra for only $3.49 at Total Wine. So that’s at 370% more. Image that $12.99 12oz bottle could also be bathed daily in bright UV light. I guess they’re not interested in selling beer here. I was hoping this would be a place where I might find some hidden gems that have been languishing on the shelf due to the prices. But I didn’t see anything that piqued my interest. The help didn’t appear to be interested in helping. I didn’t feel all that welcome there. The place is clean and very well organized. Although buyer beware. I won’t be back.

4/10/2007 2:06:13 PM, tuesday, april 10, 2007
Nothing much to add here - great selection but so far nothing I can’t find anywhere else - bad pricing - no singles - not worth the trip

3/5/2007 8:07:12 AM, monday, march 05, 2007
Ah... 3000 Beers. This is what started it all for me. I wanted to try a couple beers and got hooked on the Belgians like Abbaye des Rocs and Bernardus. They really do have 3000 imported beers to choose froom, organized by country and style. There are also a couple hundred different microbrews. The prices are a bit pricey, but they often have deals where if you spend $100, you get another $20 to spend towards MORE BEER!

3/22/2006 6:04:42 PM, wednesday, march 22, 2006 [ Updated wednesday, september 19, 2007 ]
Damn good selection only problem is everything is almost double of what you can find at total wine & more which is close to this place, I will never go back WAY too overpriced, I left with one 12 oz bottle.

12/20/2005 9:50:07 PM, tuesday, december 20, 2005 [ Updated tuesday, june 19, 2007 ]
One great selection of beers in what used to be a convenience store. It has improved on looks since it was 3000 beers. They still do not separate six packs for singles but promise to do so one day. I can’t really understand it since there seems to be quite a demand for them. They do have a decent deli if you want some sandwiches and soda.

1/24/2005 11:06:04 AM, monday, january 24, 2005
Huge selection, and you might even find a few beers that World of Beer missed (or more likely, are sold out of and haven’t got another shipment in). Unfortunatly they are overpriced, and I still must make the trek out to Clearwater for my beer.

9/30/2004 12:24:53 AM, thursday, september 30, 2004 [ Updated sunday, august 31, 2008 ]
If you’re in South Tampa or even driving by on I275 you better slide into this store! Very Impressive selection! 22oz bottles and 6 packs only... no single 12oz’ers

9/25/2004 5:09:42 AM, saturday, september 25, 2004 [ Updated tuesday, september 18, 2007 ]
Re-rate. June 27, 2005 I’m sick of the crap service, crazy high prices and indifference to their customer base. Selection is great, but as they do not offer singles, after repeatedly promisng they would, I have given up. This is what you get when people run a beer store strictly to try to make money and bring no passion or knowledge of the subject.