New BevMo to open this week

A dozen workers carted cases of beer, wine and liquor around as managers studied blueprints at a Brand Boulevard storefront recently as they prepared for the opening of a new BevMo.

The store, at 200 S. Brand Blvd., is scheduled to open Friday, just in time for holiday celebrations and the busiest time of the year in the adult beverage business.

“That was the idea,” said Jeff Sealy, BevMo’s vice president for real estate and construction. “We did the tenant improvements in a very short period of time. It was a lot of work.”

Nearly 11% of all adult beverage sales take place in December, according to the Beverage Information Group, which conducts research and publishes trade journals on the industry.

The BevMo store takes over the 7,800-square-foot space formerly occupied by Lamps Plus.

The Glendale City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, voted 3 to 1 to give its approval to the project in August. Lamps Plus moved out at the end of September.

That left Sealy’s team a little more than two months to demolish parts of the interior, put in coolers, a new floors, lighting and heating and air conditioning systems and to set up a tasting bar in the back of the store.

Sealy said BevMo has a 10-year lease on the site at Brand and Harvard, with options to stay beyond that.

“Lamps Plus wanted out of their lease,” Sealy said. “The landlord let them off, contingent on us signing a lease to move in.”

Sealy said the store plans to host tasting events on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons.

BevMo has more than 110 stores in Arizona and California, including stores in Burbank, Pasadena and Studio City.

“We’re definitely growing,” Sealy said. “Glendale will be our ninth new store for the year.”