Avenue Wine & Liquor

I’m with Joanna T on this one. (That’s no surprise though… homegirl’s like my Unilocal spirit animal.)
Avenue is a south side sleeper and while I want you all to go to there, I also kind of don’t. This is my secret hidden gem of a liquor store so HANDS OFF, OKAY?
Just kidding. I don’t need all the liquor. You can have some of it, but only some.
Here’s what you can’t have:
–their Steigl Radler
–their reasonably priced mid-​range wines and bubbles
–their weird, reasonably priced bitter orange spirits and brandies
–their cases of tiny Rhinies (SO CUTE)
(I purchased the infamous case of tiny Rhinies from the 2014 Kitschmas party at Avenue. I never imagined it’d be such a hit!)
A relatively solid selection of, well, everything… including craft beerz.
No, it’s not a Ray’s or Discount, but it’s definitely rockin’ a selection more vast than most rando liquor stores, so for that, I applaud you Avenue. The people that work there are also very nice, so bonus points for that.
South side sleeper.

Random stop on my way home.
I had an awesome Hemingway Daiquiri yesterday and I need a bottle of Luxardo to make the home version, but no luck.
So I looked for two sangrias that have been on my list, no luck with those.
So I looked for High Life Shorties for a Bloody Mary party I’m going to, nope, no luck with those.
One last effort to find a pretty middle of the road Chardonnay I had at a recent tasting, nope, didn’t have it.
What they do have is lots of Pabst, Schlitz and Milwaukee’s Best. And lots of lots of brandy. So if I would have been looking to stock up for a beer and a shot special I’d be in luck.
Lesson learned that I should go with what I know has what I’m looking for and go the few extra miles to Woodmans!

Dennis was great and helpful! I am from Pa and can’t get New Glarus in Reading! Any time I fly into MKE Avenue is my go to place.

Typical Sconny liquor store: big, has everything you might need, and the prices are fine. I got myself some local Milwaukee beer, which was awesome, and then stood in line behind a lady who purchased a bunch of wine coolers for the Super Bowl while the clerk admonished her, mansplaining how she had to hold a paper bag from the bottom and not the top. And the woman just took it. Ladies, stand up against mansplaining! (The dude was of course cool with me.)

Avenue Liquor is like a trip down memory lane… Of course, that would probably mean that you are drunk driving.
This was our go to beer, booze, and wine store for many years when we lived on the south side. It’s been years since I stopped here until recently. I see little has changed. There was still a ginormous Keystone Light display as you walk in, the craft beer selection is still matched only by the blue collar beer choices, and the clientele is still South Side fabulous. All in all, Avenue is probably your best choice on the south side if you don’t want to go «all the way out» to Discount Liquor.
Fair prices, helpful staff, good selection, lots of parking. Good enuf for a solid three stars in my book. You could do a lot worse.

When you’re on the Southside and you don’t feel like driving all the way to Discount or Ray’s — Avenue is a really good alternative. Key points:
1. Excellent vintage sign. That’s important.
2. Lots of parking — both in a private lot + on the street. The lot is easy to get in/​out of (ahem, Discount!)
3. Good selection of beer, wine and spirits. You won’t find the super obscure or cult offerings but it beats Pick’N’Save
4. Fair prices
5. Really pleasant, helpful staff
6. Extensive selection of liquor store snacks — pork rinds, pretzels, corn nuts and the all important beef jerky.
Lest you think that this is just a «south side» liquor store, I can attest that they know how to class it up here. I will never forget a lesson in champagne buying from 10+ years ago where a mulleted staffer explained at length how extra dry champagne is really kind of sweet and what I really wanted was brut. Those were words to live by and I still take his quality advice every time I buy a buy of bubbly which is embarrassingly often.
Hats off to you, Avenue — don’t you go changin’.