Vernon’s Liquor Store

This is the closest liquor store to me, but I will never return. The staff has never offered help and the bottles are so dusty that I don’t want to touch them. What you see is what you get at this store — and it’s not much.

Quality liquor store. Good beer selection. Interesting characters… don’t forget you break it you buy it.

Have been to Vernon’s plenty of times since I recently started renting next door. Low selection of craft beers but enough of a variety to please last-​minute pickups. Tonight was no different, after grocery shopping I had to pickup a single beer to make my beer bacon and cheese soup (stop and shop doesn’t take out of state which is understandable since that’s a rare occurrence in Massachusetts grocery stores). Little did I know that this would be the first time out of my 10+ times visiting here that I would be refused because I had a New Hampshire Driver’s License. Granted, I’m calm because I haven’t seen this cash register attendant before (and each has been relatively friendly to me on my previous visits), so I ask for the manager who was currently in her office perched in the corner. She comes down and I assure her I’ve been here plenty of times before and that I actually live right next door. The manager also tells me they don’t take out of state IDs for anyone under 30. Sorry but that was bull, a liquor store of your caliber has enough resources to detect a fake because there’s no way in heck you turn down out-​of-​staters (clearly since myself and gf frequently stopped by here since moving in Sept). So I pull out my second form of ID which is a Rhode Island ID. The manager still offers no explanation besides the one originally voiced.
I’d expect this kind of harassment at the TD garden, some high-​class establishment in Boston but not at an actual tiny liquor store in Malden. And one thing I hate more than anything is when owners blatantly lie to your face. I’m sure you have a binder full of state identification cards and how to verify each.
So Vernon Liquors, you successfully lost a local customer thanks to the incompetence of your manager (older Asian woman).

This package store has a boring selection of beer, but I sometimes drop in for wine because they offer reduced prices if you buy 2 bottles. I found a bottle typically $ 9.99 for 2 for $ 16, so I grabbed 2. At the checkout the lady charged me $ 18. I said, «The price tags both say «2 for $ 16» and she said «that must be a mistake and pealed them off. So THEN she shouts to the guy stocking shelves, «check the price on _​_​_​_​». He replies, «Those were the last 2, so they’re probably marked down from an older sale.» I said to the lady, «are you not going to honor your advertised price on the bottle? Because if not, I’m not coming back» (knowing Locke Liquors is around the corner with a friendly staff and affordable prices). She held her ground, «$ 18!» I said, «ok, well I’m not coming back ’cause that is BAD BUSINESS.

It’s strange to rate a liquor store but my new philosophy on life is ‘If they’re taking my money, they’re gonna get Unilocaled.”
By virtue of being the packie nearest to my Malden dwelling (affectionately referred to in e-​vites and inter-​roommate correspondence as The 162), it’s the first stop for spur-​of-​the-​moment boozing needs. I maintain that one can have liquor-​based necessities without being an alcoholic.
Like a year ago, when I was between autos. Ursula had died and Miho and I had yet to find each other and, accordingly, I had to hoof it. With some Beef Florentine in the oven and dessert on the brain, Vernon’s was the only liquor store within (timely) walking distance. Fresh fruit Foster was on the menu and I was insistent on a banana liqueur. The best Vern’s could do for me was the dreadful, high-​proof 99 Bananas. Yuck.
More recently, Gentleman’s Quarterly recommended Pimm’s No. 1 as one of four European spirits perfect for summer. Each of the two employees I asked for direction looked at me as if I were one head short of a hydra and dismissed the notion. Undeterred, I eventually found a dusty bottle on a bottom shelf devoted to other low-​demand curiosities.
To her credit, the misplaced, witty young lady working the register (who did not offer the simple compliment of an ID check) showed genuine interest in the Pimm’s and we briefly discussed my intent to mix it with Fresca (not, in hindsight, an ideal blend) and its more regular companionship with lemonade.
I won’t relate the entire narrative but I would encourage those of y’all with dark senses of humor to wander in on a lazy afternoon and ask for a gift certificate. What an amazing scene.
At any rate, the prices are what you’d expect them to be. The wine selection is piss-​poor and you shouldn’t expect much in the way of a recommendation or even ordinary human kindness from the employees. Malden has plenty of better options (any of the umpteen Kappy’s, for example).