Washington Liquor Store

If you give less than three stars to a room filled with liquor, you are an asshole.
I even give an extra star for being open until ⁹⁄₁₀ pm, in an area where everything pretty much shuts down at 6 pm. Way to prioritize, downtown Seattle!
Plus there is this one cashier who very successfully and entertainingly keeps out people who come in to ask for money and/​or liquor. I am a kind and generous person. Really I am. But I work hard for my liquor, man.
This store is tiny and the selection is not so stellar. Whatever. IT IS STILL A ROOM FILLED WITH LIQUOR. It’s like that really hot lover you had in college. Doesn’t call you for a week? Whatever. Cheats on you with your best friend? Whatever. Makes you pay for everything? Whatever. You still want to stare at their face and as long as they keep doing that thing with their… ahem, well, anyway.
Just keep carrying Blanton’s and Hendrick’s (and Maker’s during rent week) and you’ll never get rid of me.

This store is all about pure convenience for me. If I’m in need of some liquor I will usually just walk here after work then walk up the hill to catch the bus home. The selection here isn’t amazing because it’s a pretty small store. They have the basics though.
It’s not really comfortable to browse for a long time because you’re constantly having to move out of the way for someone to get by or grab a bottle. I’d recommend knowing what you want before you go in so you can grab it and get out.
Since there are only two registers in the store the lines can be long at times, like on Friday afternoons. Or you might be behind someone who is paying for their liquor in change (which happens to me about every other time I come here). But I’ll deal with these things as long as I get my hands on the sauce.

If you’re looking for a fine selection of wines and liquors, it’s probably not going to be here. If you need a quick banquet permit, or some standard adult beverages, it’s hard to beat the location or convenience. The staff can be a little gruff, but once you show them you’re not one of the usual off-​the-​street trouble makers, they’re actually pretty cool. It’s got to be hard not the get a little jaded with half of the clientele that wanders though the door. Overall, a decent place to grab some stuff on the way home from work.

This liquor store has a pretty piss-​poor selection of most liquors, but I did find a few interesting options in the scotch section that I’ve not seen too many other places, including a Glenlivet 16 year cask Strength, which at 113 proof was both tasty and incredibly dangerous.
Location right smack-​dab in the midst of downtown is a big plus.

Anytime I can just step out from work, and roll down a hill 30 steps to a liquor store, is a god send. Talk about an ideal situation, this is it.
Lunch breaks? Liquor Store.
After work on the way home? Liquor Store.
Before work? Well. I wish they were open. I won’t knock off a star for that though.
Cheers.

I would LOVE to give this liquor store a higher rating, I really would, but I’m afraid that’s not possible. Reflective of what I like to call Seattle’s «Nanny Police State,» this location closes at 6:00 pm, when other locations close as late as 10:00 pm. Mind you, this one location services pretty much the entire downtown area.
So, basically, if your work schedule deviates just a little bit from the 9 – 5 bluesprint, you’re gonna be bussing it all the way down to South Seattle near Qwest Field or you’re gonna be hoofing it up to Capitol Hill. Believe you me, at that point you’re gonna be so infuriated that you’re gonna go on a drunken bender. Well, maybe not, but you get the point.
The fact is this location has altered hours because of a perception that restricting alcohol sales will somehow keep the «homeless problem» under control and that tourists will not be accosted by beligerent street people. Well, that’s going to happen anyway. If anything, we should be feeding the homeless more alcohol, that way maybe they’ll just pass out and leave us alone. Market forces are not determining the hours of this location, it’s just «liberal» social engineering.
It’s a shame, too. Not only does this location have a friendly and helpful staff, but it’s located right next door to a Christian Science Monitor office where you can pick up the Monitor for $ 1 or old issues for 5o cents. But the City of Seattle is intent on treating the symtoms of having a large, mentally ill homeless community (an estimated 1000 homeless people roam the streets each day), instead of the root causes.