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Old Line Wine and Spirits - Wine Store as Part of a Bistro in Beltsville


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I saw a thread for this place in the dining section, but nothing for the wine shop itself. So far it seems promising in terms of selection and pricing, but I've only been twice so can't say too much just yet.

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In any event, I wanted to share that they're currently trying to get rid of some overstock and are offering all of their dry roses for $1 over cost. I went today and bought nearly a case. Haven't had most of the wines so can't speak to the choices although I am pretty excited about the Alexander Valley and Linden roses. Obviously bottles that are cheaper to start are marked down less, but with some of the wines it was a rather large savings ($14.99 bottles for $9-11 for instance). I'm not sure it's worth a long drive, but for anyone in the area looking to stock up on wine for the summer, it's worth dropping in.

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I am a little worried for the shop and bistro. Most times I go there, both are mostly empty and there's a single checkout person on staff.  The really great wine buyer they had hired, Jon, I have discovered has left to move to the west coast. It's too bad because his palate was exceptional. I am still a fan of the wine shop, plus their beer extension is *extensive*. Think of this place as a mini version of a Total Wine. They tend not to carry the super duper high end stuff, but the selection is good and the prices are good. I will keep going because they are awfully convenient to me personally and I want to see them succeed. Or at least survive.

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I am a little worried for the shop and bistro. Most times I go there, both are mostly empty and there's a single checkout person on staff.  The really great wine buyer they had hired, Jon, I have discovered has left to move to the west coast. It's too bad because his palate was exceptional. I am still a fan of the wine shop, plus their beer extension is *extensive*. Think of this place as a mini version of a Total Wine. They tend not to carry the super duper high end stuff, but the selection is good and the prices are good. I will keep going because they are awfully convenient to me personally and I want to see them succeed. Or at least survive.

They've been open for quite a long time, right? I think I remember them, but I don't remember what they are, or who they sell - but I'm almost certain I used to go there.

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They've been open for quite a long time, right? I think I remember them, but I don't remember what they are, or who they sell - but I'm almost certain I used to go there.

I think just a few years at this point. They're in the space that used to be occupied by Circuit City on Route 1 in Beltsville, next door to the Costco.

I haven't been in a little while. I have been anxiously waiting/hoping for another rose sale so I can stock up again.

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This place has its ups and downs. Generally, I see few shoppers but the restaurant is generally busy regularly so there's that.  I was there today and met a new employee (wine buyer? new manager? not sure). He was very approachable and engaging and ready to help track things down after apologizing in case I had any issues finding anything as he's been starting to slowly reorganize the store. I'm looking forward to better selection and service there with this new guy.

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I haven't been here in a while, but I always thought it had a pretty decent beer selection.  I was even able to find some hidden gems, and old beers which they basically paid to age for me.  I don't make it to the neighborhood very often, but I really enjoy shopping there when I do stop by.

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4 hours ago, pras said:

I haven't been here in a while, but I always thought it had a pretty decent beer selection.  I was even able to find some hidden gems, and old beers which they basically paid to age for me.  I don't make it to the neighborhood very often, but I really enjoy shopping there when I do stop by.

The key is to remember that it's only 1.5 miles off the Beltway (I was mistaken in 2014 - I hadn't been here).

Screenshot 2019-02-10 at 8.43.53 PM.png

Their Twitter account says they have "the BIGGEST and BEST Beer, Wine, and Spirits selection in Prince George's County, Maryland." 

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Although I use the Costco next door, I haven't been to Old Line in years, must rectify. My understanding is that when they opened initially they had a good buyer, who has since left. They certainly have the biggest selection in Prince George's County. Best might be debatable. I haven't been to Silesia since Mike Tilch passed, I believe his brother sold it to people with money but not much wine experience.
 
Town Center Liquors at the Riverdale MARC stop just south of the R.1/R.410 intersection has a surprisingly good selection of wine and beer. Haven't been there in years either though.
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10 hours ago, Count Bobulescu said:
Although I use the Costco next door, I haven't been to Old Line in years, must rectify. My understanding is that when they opened initially they had a good buyer, who has since left. They certainly have the biggest selection in Prince George's County. Best might be debatable. I haven't been to Silesia since Mike Tilch passed, I believe his brother sold it to people with money but not much wine experience.
 
Town Center Liquors at the Riverdale MARC stop just south of the R.1/R.410 intersection has a surprisingly good selection of wine and beer. Haven't been there in years either though.

Long, *long* ago, there was a place in Laurel called "Astor Liquors" (or something like that), with the best wine selection in Laurel - does it still exist? It wasn't much, but it was the best there was back in the 1980s.

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16 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Long, *long* ago, there was a place in Laurel called "Astor Liquors" (or something like that), with the best wine selection in Laurel - does it still exist? It wasn't much, but it was the best there was back in the 1980s.

Yes, not to be confused with this Astor , still there in the Giant SC. Last time I was in it looked liked it  hadn't changed much since the 1880's, and similar for the Giant. There are some modest plans to redevelop that SC, adding residential, but beyond that I don't think they amount to much

The old Laurel Mall next door was pulled down and rebuilt with a Harris T. and a new wine store that was built specifically for HT, but they chose not to operate it, and it went to an independent operator. It was the first new liquor store in PG since the mid nineties. It required some legal ju-jitsu in Annapolis. 

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On 2/11/2019 at 11:04 AM, Count Bobulescu said:
Although I use the Costco next door, I haven't been to Old Line in years, must rectify. My understanding is that when they opened initially they had a good buyer, who has since left. They certainly have the biggest selection in Prince George's County. Best might be debatable. I haven't been to Silesia since Mike Tilch passed, I believe his brother sold it to people with money but not much wine experience.
 
Town Center Liquors at the Riverdale MARC stop just south of the R.1/R.410 intersection has a surprisingly good selection of wine and beer. Haven't been there in years either though.

Correct. Jon was one of the duo that did all of the buying at I.M. Wine in Fulton, MD. That shop changed hands maybe 5 years ago and he left to go to Old Line. Most of the initial inventory was already locked in. He was there maybe 6-9 months and did his best to improve the selection (his palate was exceptional). But he left to move to Oregon. I really miss him.

Since then, it's been ok, but not great. Mitchell Pressman is a recent hire there and he's been very helpful in my trips there and has chased down two wines I have been looking for - nice. I do not know what his precise position is or what role he plays in purchasing, but he'll go above and beyond to help you find what you are looking for for sure - I'd seek him out.

On 2/12/2019 at 10:20 AM, Count Bobulescu said:

Yes, not to be confused with this Astor , still there in the Giant SC. Last time I was in it looked liked it  hadn't changed much since the 1880's, and similar for the Giant. There are some modest plans to redevelop that SC, adding residential, but beyond that I don't think they amount to much

The old Laurel Mall next door was pulled down and rebuilt with a Harris T. and a new wine store that was built specifically for HT, but they chose not to operate it, and it went to an independent operator. It was the first new liquor store in PG since the mid nineties. It required some legal ju-jitsu in Annapolis. 

Interesting - I did not know the back story there for Laurel Liquors. The independent operator that runs the shop is nice, but overall service is more or less perfunctory. They do have some nicer wines in locked cases to ogle over too.  I remember finding it quite interesting when, maybe 6-9 months after it opened, I saw the now-owner of I.M.Wine in there chatting with the Laurel Liquors owner for quite a long time. Not sure if they are somehow related business-wise.

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8 hours ago, Pool Boy said:

Correct. Jon was one of the duo that did all of the buying at I.M. Wine in Fulton, MD. That shop changed hands maybe 5 years ago and he left to go to Old Line. Most of the initial inventory was already locked in. He was there maybe 6-9 months and did his best to improve the selection (his palate was exceptional). But he left to move to Oregon. I really miss him.

Since then, it's been ok, but not great. Mitchell Pressman is a recent hire there and he's been very helpful in my trips there and has chased down two wines I have been looking for - nice. I do not know what his precise position is or what role he plays in purchasing, but he'll go above and beyond to help you find what you are looking for for sure - I'd seek him out.

Interesting - I did not know the back story there for Laurel Liquors. The independent operator that runs the shop is nice, but overall service is more or less perfunctory. They do have some nicer wines in locked cases to ogle over too.  I remember finding it quite interesting when, maybe 6-9 months after it opened, I saw the now-owner of I.M.Wine in there chatting with the Laurel Liquors owner for quite a long time. Not sure if they are somehow related business-wise.


Mitchell's a knowledgeable guy. He used own/run The Chesapeake Wine Company in Canton. I believe he opened a 2nd store somewhere in Baltimore. Guess it didn't work out.
 
AFAIK there were some shenanigans over that Laurel license. HT initially said they would operate the store. Then HT got bought by Kroger who backed out. The developers applied to Annapolis for, and received six on-premise "special district" licenses. The developers then went back to Annapolis the following year and successfully sought to convert one on premise to an off premise.
 
As I understand it, the developer rather than the store and restaurant operators owns all the alcohol licenses, and the licenses are valid only for that location, meaning if the store or restaurants decided to move across the street, the licenses stay put, for the developer to dole out to new tenants.
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On 2/18/2019 at 9:26 PM, Count Bobulescu said:

Mitchell's a knowledgeable guy. He used own/run The Chesapeake Wine Company in Canton. I believe he opened a 2nd store somewhere in Baltimore. Guess it didn't work out.
 
AFAIK there were some shenanigans over that Laurel license. HT initially said they would operate the store. Then HT got bought by Kroger who backed out. The developers applied to Annapolis for, and received six on-premise "special district" licenses. The developers then went back to Annapolis the following year and successfully sought to convert one on premise to an off premise.
 
As I understand it, the developer rather than the store and restaurant operators owns all the alcohol licenses, and the licenses are valid only for that location, meaning if the store or restaurants decided to move across the street, the licenses stay put, for the developer to dole out to new tenants.

I remember going there once or twice years ago and finding the selection interesting.

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