Grand Slam Convenience

The guys working the counter are always speedy and smooth, but tonight wasn’t the experience of excellent service I’ve come to expect. Got off work around 1am up the street from Grand Slam (on my birthday, July 24^th), and walked to the convenience store for a pack of cigarettes. Got there to find the doors locked and «Closed» signs posted; the time was 1:26. The gentleman working walked up to the door, opened it, told me it was closed. I told him the time as I glanced toward the hours posted on the door. He said, «according to your watch.» I don’t wear a watch.

Grand Slam is the go-​to place for almost anything you need if you live in River Market. Our neighborhood has lots of great restaurants and obviously City Market, but we don’t have a decent grocery or liquor store. If I need a gallon of milk on a Sunday morning, beer on Friday night, or ice cream anytime, I head to Grand Slam.
The selection of wine and beer is excellent, and the prices are competitive. Thoughtfully, they even have fresh lemons and limes if you need them for cocktails.
The staff is awesome. They’re friendly, fast and helpful. They are super fun, but they stay attuned to their surroundings since they know they’re dealing with a diverse range of customers. The store is extremely clean and always well-​stocked.
For folks who wrote reviews about the «sketchy» clientele… Grand Slam is in the CITY. You’ll get folks in there who live in lofts and others who live under bridges, and everyone in between. The urban population is diverse. And those of us who actually live in the neighborhood like it that way. If it trips you out, there’s a 24-​hour CVS in NKC about 7 minutes away by car.
Grand Slam can be an adventure; you can hear and see some pretty wacky stuff. You frequently see a police car outside and can catch an arrest in-​action now and then. Everyone has a story. I’ve often said they should have their own reality TV show.

This is hands down the best place to purchase booze in the Downtown and/​or River Market area. It’s not perfect, but the store is clean, with a strong selection of adult beverages (and tobacco products if that’s your thing). The parking lot can be tight at times, but there is overflow parking just to the east. The only annoying thing is that you might have to deal with a one-​way street and circle the block to get going the right direction.

This place has perhaps the most mixed feelings of any establishment in the city. Pros and cons time.
Pros:
— Right off the highway
— Sells liquor
— Staff is super fast
— Clean store
Cons:
— Right off the highway
— Sells liquor
— Staff is super fast (so kinda pissed if you take more than 30 seconds to select your alcohol which is behind the counter)
… here is where we veer…
— The parking lot is basically a death trap
— You might be mugged or worse when you visit either inside or outside the store
— The one-​way makes it really confusing to navigate
All said, I really like the staff here and still visit but I kinda dread it every time.

The place is a little bigger and has more to offer than most convenient stores. It’s clean inside. This is my beef with the place. They charge an exorbitant fee on your check. They took out almost 8% on my freaking check!!! And they always keep the change. I hate when check-​cashing places do that. They think they can do that because it’s «just change.“How stupid and unethical. I also felt the people at the front counter were kind of rude. I will never go there to cash my check again. It upsets me because that’s where a lot of low-​income workers go to cash their checks, and they take full advantage of them. SHAME ON GRAND SLAM.

What can you say?
You can buy all your basics here, from groceries to a surprisingly wide range of booze.
You can pick up a newspaper and some coffee.
The staff gets friendlier as you become a regular.
Cons: Well, the crowd. Random street folk at all hours. And the lot is always crammed. Also, they need to sell diesel.
A good basic downtown.

Even though it is part gas station, they have a great selection of everything. Most stores carry certain things. Whether its nonalcoholic or alcoholic, they typically have it there. San Pellegrino, Ginger Beer, Faygo flavored Sodas (Southern classic), extensive selections of International wines and spirits, and even some great cigars. They never close either, so for holidays, you can always get the heavy whipping cream, butter, eggs, breadcrumbs. It is like a mini grocery store. Not just fast food snacks.

You know I really despised this place when they opened. Selling cigarettes individually put all the smokers who bought extra packs out of business. Why would they monopolize such a market? Mind blowing. I do have to give credit where credit is due. When ever I’m carving a solicitation from a homeless man I can always come here. Now that I’m married I don’t make it to the stripe clubs. Now… what to do with all those extra dollars? Go to Grand Slam’s parking lot and LET IT RAIN BABY. I gots the green backs and get many of men diving down to worship the ground I’m walking on. Call me the king if you will. I just needed to stop in for a swill, while I take my pill.
Yah Baby… you didn’t even know I could rhyme…

Surprising me every time I step foot in here. Yep, grand slam is awesome. They have a fabulous selection of people and products. I mean, there aren’t many places you get to experience a single 24 Oz. can of PBR, cologne called ‘white girl’, and see someone from Egypt and England in the same place in Missouri.
Of course they have a thrilling selection of snacks for any kind of munchie craving you can think of.
This place is just super all around.

Grand Slam was a total surprise to me the first time I went in. When I first moved downtown I figured this convenience store would be a bit of a stereotype being downtown and not really by anything else. But whoa! A pretty nice wine selection that is priced well and a decent beer selection.
My favorite part. they never close. Everything else can shut down due to blizzards and you can still go and get provisions. Granted this is a convenience store, not a market, so your provision my consist of popcorn, cereal, chips and few bottles of wine (true story).
There is a bit of sketch lurking about sometimes but I have to say I have never felt threatened or anything. I also like that it is kept clean and well stocked. The staff is usually helpful and gets you in and out quickly. I like ‘em!

This place is great: great location, great characters, great selection of alcohol, great gas, great hood factor, etc. It’s awesome! I’ve been here a ton of times, and it never ceases to amaze me the amount of interesting people I see in and around this store. Nevertheless, I frequented the establishment plenty in my time downtown.
The thing I liked about the staff was that they were very straight forward, didn’t take crap from anyone and got the job done. The store was clean, stocked, and safe to visit. They could’ve let it turn into a dive, but they didn’t! Kudos! The prices on alcohol might be a little steep, but it beats driving/​walking to another liquor store miles away.

I have been shopping at grand slam for my champagne and other convenience needs over the past 2 years, and this place is by far the best store in the area! The selection is out of this world, and the staff is super friendly and professional! LOVE this place!

I still prefer the old set up they had which attracted all the bums kind of like a zombie movie. I noticed their selection of 2×4’s has dropped from 8+ doors to only 4 or 5. They are still one of the few to continue and serve that wonderful 4 loco if you really want to get crazy. They will still be happy to put that drink in a brown bag for you in case you like to hide your drink.

First off… this place is a gas station. It has a decent selection of spirits and beers. I rolled in on a Sunday night before the Pearl Jam concert and noticed a police officer stationed at the store watching over the parking lot/​filling stations. The place is rough. I got what I needed and got out quick without issue. Thank God or in the case of the Grand Slam… Allah …Yeah and thats all’s I have to say about that.

All of you who’s cars use flex fuel, this is only one of 2 places to get it in the city. As of today unleaded gas is 2.62 a gal, this ethanol is 1.99per gal!

You know, I used to have to get gas outside of Grand Slam after I would come visit my friend who lived downtown right after we graduated college… so, circa 2006. It. Was. Creepy.
Cut to April of last year, when I moved down here. Grand Slam is pretty convenient for gas and booze for people who live in the area. The staff is very friendly and I can tell they definitely don’t take any BS from anyone. The creep-​factor of just a few years ago has definitely gone down. The space is very clean and there’s a huge selection of wine, beer, hard alcohol and SNACKS! (Very important.)
All in all, it’s changed. Bums don’t get liquor here. Bums aren’t even allowed in here anymore. But I certainly get 5 Hour Energy’s and bottles of wine here late night after a long day of work.

Let me get this out of the way: YES there are a lot of sketchy characters here. But c’mon, it’s a convenience store/​liquor store on the outskirts of downtown. That’s the fault of geography, not the business themselves.
If anybody remembers the OLD Grand Slam, they know that this place is a huge improvement. Night and day, in terms of range of products, cleanliness, and sense of security. It is well lit, people don’t hassle you for change outside (at least they don’t hassle me) and the sketch factor just seems to be decimated. Plus, those guys behind the counter don’t take people’s shit, and have no problem kicking people out.
The operators of this business have a LOT of factors working against them, and they manage them as best they can. In my book, they do a damn good job. This place is convenient, has a ton of stuff that you might need, and reasonable hours (whats up with other downtown convenience stores shutting down at 5 PM???)
I’m a fan.

You know the bums that stand on the corner by the Broadway bridge? This is where they get their liquor. Hey you, Johnson County dude who gave a dollar to the beggar on the corner, you just contributed to a beer from Grand Slam. We sit on our deck in the summer at watch it happen over and over.
If you are feeling brave, go check it out.

Home of The Hottest Pickle in Kansas City.
WARNING: Not for the faint. Actually, not for anyone. Save yourself the torment and just buy some Hennessy or something.