Wall to Wall Wines & Spirits: an outsize liquor store

When was the last time you walked into a store selling wine, beers and spirits and walked out with a handful of cigars that might have your bank manager supposing a major credit was about to be made to your account?

Welcome to Hy-Vee’s (a mid-western supermarket operator) Wall to Wall Wine & Spirits in West Des Moines. This 15,700 sq ft store is located in a ‘city’ that is, perhaps unsurprisingly, west of Des Moines. Yet in spite of its position, WDS lays claim to being an urban entity in its own right (it’s a suburb).

The store itself used to be a Hy-Vee outpost, but to judge by the size of this alcoholic enterprise, it would seem there is more money in booze than ‘good for you’ products and if you really do want to spend $3,500 on a bottle of cognac, this is a good place to begin your quest.

Everything about the store is big and the humidor, containing the cigars, is a climate-controlled shop-in-shop.

In total, this is Iowa’s largest liquor store. They do things bigger over there.

Pics: Hy-Vee