SC grocery stores aren’t allowed to sell liquor; Lowes Foods has a new answer to that
Like an ode to South Carolina’s infamously strict law that for decades limited liquor sales to miniature bottles, a display of minis stands in one corner of the Columbia area’s newest spirits store.
In that respect, Knock Knock Spirits is much like a typical liquor store.
But it’s different one big way: It’s connected to a grocery store, which, by law, cannot sell liquor.
North Carolina-based Lowes Foods grocery store chain has launched a unique, speakeasy-themed liquor store as a companion to two Columbia-area grocery stores, in Lexington and in Forest Acres.
“We’ve done so much with beverages (such as the grocery stores’ iconic Beer Dens) we thought this was the next logical step,” said Kelly Davis, Lowes’ marketing director.
The new Knock Knock stores fall in line with South Carolina laws by operating as an entirely separate business entity, including having a separate address, separate entrance and separate check-out from the main grocery stores.
But the stores are handily located directly adjacent to the main Lowes stores — in fact, in space that was formerly used to corral shopping carts.
The adjacency makes it convenient for customers to purchase their spirits at Knock Knock then purchase their mixers and other accouterments at Lowes, Davis said.
Lowes Foods is launching the Knock Knock stores in South Carolina, Davis explained, because in North Carolina all liquor stores must be owned by the state government.
The close-quartered Knock Knock stores give a heavy nod to the 1920s, designed to model a Prohibition-era speakeasy. The name of the stores, too, is a throwback to speakeasies.
The tall shelves are stocked with a variety of liquors, including a special section of local and regional spirits, including from Columbia’s Crouch Distilling, Lugoff’s Gorget Distilling Co. and Charleston’s Firefly Distillery.
The stores also feature a small selection of high-dollar — as in, thousands of dollars — limited-availability spirits, such as a $1,259 bottle of Hennessy Paradis cognac on the shelf in Forest Acres.
A fair warning: Unlike the beers and wines you can buy and drink inside Lowes Foods stores, Knock Knock’s spirits cannot be consumed while you shop. However, the stores will host occasional tastings.
Knock Knock Spirits opened last month in Lexington, at 5222 Sunset Blvd. A soft opening for its second store, at 4711 Forest Drive in Forest Acres, is from 4-7 p.m. Thursday. A ribbon-cutting event is planned for Friday, and the store will be open Mondays through Saturdays going forward.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 1:14 PM.
