Spec’s

I stopped by Specs because I needed a gift for the New Year. On this occasion, I purchased a medium priced bottle of champagne for friends who were letting us stay with them over the holiday and some plastic champagne flutes!
Pros:
1. They have everything from the alcohol to mixers, olives, Maraschino cherries, plastic cups, napkins, etc.
2. The booze. Again, they have everything. Varying brands, quality, and prices.
3. The staff is very helpful and more than willing to answer questions or recommend bottles of you ask!
Cons? None, really. Interesting factoid: Specs offers discounts to those of you who carry around cash!

Spec’s is a great place for wine and alcohol in general. Everything is organized in sections and as I enter I go straight to the Italian one.
Beside the fact they have a lot of different type of wine, they still miss some key Italian wines which should be in every store, according to me. Other Spec’s in Houston have these wines/​have a better choice.
Also, the place look a little dusty and it would be better if they do some renovation.
Overall it is a fair place to buy alcohol and it is next to the medical center, which is handy.

Dismally small, especially compared to the Midtown superstore not but ten minutes over yonder. But they still have a selection of Uncle’s cough syrup here. So if you are all out of Turner but still looking for hooch, this is your spot.
Limited selection and tiny parking lot means planning ahead to not come here when everyone else and their grandmothers are here as well. But if you’re on the way to Bellaire then it is much more convenient to keep chugging along Holcombe rather than heading back towards Midtown.

I’ve always been satisfied by the major liquor retailers in the locales where I’ve lived: Joe Canal’s in my little hometown, Total Wine in Miami, but Specs blows them out of the water with their customer service. This location is my new neighborhood Specs since I moved and isn’t huge like the one on Smith in Midtown, but it’s big enough and has had everything I’ve needed thus far. I don’t know how a chain as large as Specs manages to have staff at every location (that I’ve been to anyway — 6 and counting) who are so friendly and helpful. Added perk: they have a wine chilling station by the registers in case you need your booze cold when you get to your destination.

Standard liquor store; pay with cash or debit and get a discount! Good selection of mixers :)

Specs is small but very convenient. The staff seems genuinely happy to be working amidst the vast beverage offerings. I usually find what I seek (my tastes are pretty pedestrian).
Good selection but obviously not as complete as the much larger Mid-​town flagship. Still, not too shabby.
I also like they give a discount for using cash. Every penny counts!

Is my beer glass half empty or half full?!?
On three different occasions, Specs staff managed to piss me off (and I am a happy drunk. lol). Listen Specs, you get 5 stars just for being a liquor store. To maintain the 5 stars, all you must do is YOUR JOB!
«My advice to you (staff at Specs) is to start drinking heavily.» Animal House

Large selection of beers, but didn’t have the Goose Island I was craving. They do have plenty of options though, so I’m sure I will be back.

Despite it’s overwhelming selection, I am always able to find what I’m looking for in no time. The staff is always walking around ready to help. My last visit had searching for ginger beer and I was delighted to find quite a few options.
The new chocolate truffle bar is what really makes this location unique. I treated myself to 5 different truffles and indulged in them throughout the next week. They were all melt in your mouth delicious.

A small, but well-​stocked neighborhood Spec’s location. As is typical of this chain, the employees are quite knowlegable of the products and can always help you find what you’re looking for (or at least a close substitute!)
This location has anything you’d need for a standard party. They even have a decent cigar selection.

I feel like all liquor stores come equipped with slightly creepy old guys who are a little bit more than too happy to help you find what you’re looking for. This place is no exception! :)
Medium sized, good selection, priced like ever other Spec’s you’ve been into. Location makes it super convenient! Parking is tricky though, not a lot of it and poorly arranged… be sure not to back up into anybody once you have your paper bag of firewater and are headed home!

It’s a liquor store. It will always get 5 stars in my book.
Outside of that fact, this Spec’s — although small — does offer quite a good selection. Instead of attempting to fight the crowds at the Smith St. location, I came here after work yesterday to pick out some bottles of wine for Thanksgiving.
Now, I’m no wine snob but I do have my preferences and enjoy trying new wines. The best thing about Spec’s is they have probably one of the most extensive wine selections you will find in any liquor store. Even in this small one! Spec’s is great too because they give little cards on different brands to clue you in to the flavors/​berries used in certain wines. Most of the staff is well versed in what they sell and therefore serve as a great resource to shoppers such as myself.
The staff at this location have always been pretty helpful, even when I’m just stopping in to pick up some beer and Michelada mix! I left out the door with 3 very different wines from Chile, South Africa and Australia… all for under $ 30! (FYI: 5% discount for paying with cash/​debit)

I was slightly let down upon entering Spec’s for the first time. Granted, a lot of it was because I’d had really high hopes of what to expect, but my experience wasn’t exactly great either.
I browsed the German beers… as those are my favorites… and picked up a couple different hefe-​weizens. I ended up leaving with 3 different ones, but the whole time I was just bummed out because they didn’t carry Hofbrau :’(
Now, I’ll leave my beer snobbery at the door and talk about the service for a second. The first time I went here, I approached the checkout stand and was ignored for a while until the manager said something to the clerk. The second (and most recent) time I came here, the two clerks who were working next to eachother were apparently in the middle of an altercation of some sort, and were jabbing eachother with snide remarks the whole time I was standing there.
As much as I love the alcohol selection, I also can’t get past the blonde lady who gives me this look and greeting that makes me feel like a thief or something every time I come in. I always want to tell her «I’m a paying customer… not some 17 year old kid trying to pull a beer run». Urgh. Because of the awesome selection, I’ll continue to be a Spec’s customer, but I’ll probably check out other locations where I’ll get better customer service from the employees. :)
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Update: 2÷27÷08
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I added a star because I’ve been back to Spec’s twice since the review, and had really, really good experiences. The same guy who «said something to the clerk» in my above review turned out to be «the guy» to go to about liquor. He passed me while I was walking to the checkout line and about had a heart attack when he saw that I was buying Jose Cuervo tequila. He guided me back over to the tequila, showed me the error of my ways, and suggested a muuuuch better tequila that actually cost less. He did the same with my irish cream selection ;) In the end, I spent less, got better quality alcohol, AND he signed me up for a Spec’s Key so I can save even more in the future. What an awesome guy: D I look forward to my Spec’s trips now because he always has my back… whether it be in bad alcohol choices, or being ignored by employees who don’t appear to be working there anymore. lol!