Alabama Liquor Supply Disruptions Creating Challenges for Huntsville Businesses - WAFF

Alabama Liquor Supply Disruptions Creating Challenges for Huntsville Businesses – WAFF

by

“Right now, some of the hardest things for us to obtain are what we call our well liquors or our standard liquors that we would pour in a standard cocktail,” John Longo said.

Bars and restaurants across Alabama are dealing with liquor supply disruptions that are making it harder to keep popular brands in stock and driving up costs for businesses, WAFF reported.

The shortages follow the Alabama ABC Board’s move to a new distribution warehouse in Montgomery. The transition has disrupted shipments, leaving some businesses struggling to get products they regularly order.

Longo, general manager at Stella’s Elixir Lounge in downtown Huntsville, said the availability of those basic liquor brands has become unpredictable.

“We’re talking about our basic liquors or what we call in our business our well liquors, the liquors that are the most popular in your basic drinks. And we’ve kind of been on pins and needles about whether or not we can get these from week to week,” Longo told WAFF.

For Stella’s, the supply problems are also affecting how the business serves its customers. Longo said they have been able to make some substitutions when certain brands aren’t available, but changing ingredients can affect the consistency of a drink.

“We’ve been able to improvise by maybe getting another brand name of something that we typically put into a drink. But in our business, as just in a restaurant, it’s about consistency. You don’t want your recipes to vary. A craft cocktail is a recipe,” Longo told WAFF.

Longo said the business is continuing to adjust to what is available while trying to provide customers with the drinks they expect.

The Alabama ABC Board has acknowledged that the warehouse transition disrupted shipments. The agency said restoring reliable deliveries is its immediate priority, and the new facility is intended to increase storage capacity and improve distribution.

More on Alabama: Alabama Temperatures to Drop This Week With Weekend Freeze Threat · Alabama Overtakes Tennessee in Latest CFP Rankings · Alabama House Republicans Retain 74 of 105 Seats After Midterms

Related reading

Read next