Sam’s Wine & Spirits

August 12, 2008
I’ve been coming here enough times, maybe I should comment about it. Does look like a big warehouse club. Selections are more varied than others would claim they did get plenty of Oberon in right as Bell’s announced it was coming back to Chicago. Also some Meantimes and Mikkellers, a good-sized Belgian section and an ever-changing selection of cheaper foreign beers to help with your ticking. Currently they have a loose bottle rack at $9.99 for 6, but at least it’s not loose MGD’s mostly American micros. Staff picks for beer are displayed alongside the wine picks as you enter. Downtown stores still have this beat as far as selection, but I’m still always able to find something new.

April 15, 2008
Good selection but nothing mindblowing...nothing amazing though...if you are in the neighborhood, go but otherwise don’t bother. Biggest cheese selection I have seen in town though...

January 28, 2008
A descent selection. Not quite that of their downtown store though. Never really have anybody ask me for help which is fine by me, and I’m sure they would help if I asked/needed but havent crossed that bridge yet.

January 10, 2008
This Sam’s has an even more warehousey feel to it than the others, with beer extending high on metal shelving units. The selection was good, but they were out of a lot of the recent releases that I was looking for (did find some good Cantillon, though). Service was very friendly, and they were willing to hold some beer for me once. Prices were good.

December 14, 2007
I visited this location on 12/14/07 and was quite impressed with the beer selection. I thought the pricing was a bit high compare to Binny’s (Naperville) about .50 on bombers and 1.00 more on six packs. Had great help when needed and everyone was friendly. Very impressed. Had Brooklyn and SN Harvest which Binny’s says they can not get

January 7, 2007
I visited this particular Sam’s Wine & Spirits location on 11/12/2006 while visiting a friend in Chicagoland. This store is located right next to The Home Depot and has a huge parking lot in the front. The store is farily large, but probably only half the size of the the main Chicago Sam’s Wine & Spirits! They have tons of wine and a pretty good selection of American micros and craft beers as well as imports. Most of the micros/craft beers are 6-packs/4-packs only unless it comes in a 22 oz or 750 mL bottle. No 12 oz singles are really available unless it is an import or in the "bargain bin". Lots of rare and regional-only stuff available. Overall the store is bright, clean, well stocked, and there are people around to help.

January 1, 2007 [ Updated December 14, 2007 ]
12/14/07: New beer mgr, Travis, seems to have made an immediate positive impact. There are quite a few new selections from what was a fairly stagnant selection all year plus seemingly more available in singles. New to the store are 3 new Mikkeller brews: X, Black Hole & Santa’s Little Helper. 1/1/07: Went on New Year’s eve around 5pm and the non-cooler American craft beer shelves were quite picked over. I still managed to find some surprises, like Three Floyds Munsterfest, which I didn’t even know existed. The Belgian section was more extensive than my local Binny’s, which is no small feat. I have to imagine that when it’s fully stocked, this is an impressive beer store. I also get the feeling that there’s a pretty decent chance they’ll be doing a cheese, wine or beer tasting when you’re there, so that’s always a bonus. I didn’t even realize how close this place was to my house it will now compete with Binny’s for my business.

November 27, 2006
After numerous trips to the Clybourn location, I finally made it over to Downer’s Grove. AMBIANCE: Warehouse style store with an impressive selection of wines and scotches. The cheese selection at this Sam’s is also well chosen. SERVICE: Asked several times if I was in need of help. Sam’s is always top knotch in this regard. SELECTION: The website details this nicely. I appreciated seeing all of the Lees barrel aged harvest ales, a fine selection of lambics, and other Belgians. FOOD: Again, cheese selection is excellent. OVERALL: NIce store, and a better layout than Clybourn.

September 1, 2006
Big wharehousy feel. Lots of beer, wine, and spirits. Staff seems ok. Went to a beer and cheese tasting here - very informative. Lots of selection - but expensive. Can sometimes find things here that aren’t elsewhere. (Dieu du Ciel, for instance)

July 17, 2006
It’s a bit far for me, but has the largest selection of beers that I know of, including in the cooler. Service is a bit sketchy, though, and the prices are correspondingly high. Oh well.