Bottles & Cans will be Downtown Edgebrook’s first liquor store in more than 70 years; “it’s like a candy store but for adults,” owners say
by BRIAN NADIG
The previously “dry” Downtown Edgebrook has its first liquor store, the upscale Bottles and Cans, 6401 N. Central Ave., in more than 70 years.
Bottles and Cans, located at the northeast corner of Central and Devon avenues, features a wide selection of locally produced products. On the store’s Facebook page, owners Carly and Joe Katz describe the business as “a candy store but for adults.”
“It’s definitively craft beer focused, with different offerings from local breweries, ciders, seltzers, readying-to-go canned cocktails,” Carly said in a recent interview. The store’s first official day of business will be Thursday, June 24.
The store also has a “tremendous” selection of specially selected spirits and wines, based in part on what area residents can be seen drinking at neighborhood barbecues and restaurants, said Carly, a Sauganash resident.
The prohibition on the sale of liquor in the Devon-Central business district took effect in 1947 and was in place for all or part of seven decades. Bottles and Cans, whose first store opened in North Center in 2012, could be the first Edgebrook business since before World War II with nearly all of its revenue coming from the sale of packaged liquor goods.
The community has welcomed Bottles and Cans with open arms, Carly said. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of support,” she said. “They’re very excited to see it’s not a franchise, (but) a ma-and-pa-type, she said.
In celebration of being a small business, Bottles of Cans has teamed up with Alarmist Brewing to offer a special brew called “Mom & Pop,” an American wheat ale, that will be sold in cans at the store and be available on tap at Dakota 94, 5304 W. Devon Ave.
One of the unique aspects of Bottles and Cans is that customers can break apart multi-packs (or boxes) of beers and other items at the store and buy just a single can or bottle, although a minimum of four items, which can be all different, is required in those instances, store general manager Wally List said.
The 2,000-square-foot store also provides liquor for weddings and other private events.
Carly said that event planning is probably her favorite part her job, in some instances helping to figure out the ingredients needed for the specialty drink a couple had at some bar when they first met. The store offers a counter with chairs that will be used for event planning and future tastings.
To be successful, the store must provide what the community wants, and feedback regarding the inventory will always be encouraged, Carly said. “We will listen to the neighborhood.”
Store hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. More information is available at www.bottlesandcanschicago.com.
