Grand opening of Fremont store features area’s largest selection of wine, beer and spirits 10 percent of wine sales from opening weekend will be donated to the Fremont Symphony Orchestra
Fremont, Calif. (Feb. 8, 2016) – Total Wine & More, America’s largest independent retailer of fine wine, beer and spirits, announced that the company’s first San Francisco Bay Area store, located at the Pacific Plaza Shopping Center at 43484 Boscell Road in Fremont, California, will open on Thursday, February 11th at 9:00 a.m.
“Total Wine & More provides the best customer service, selection and price in the nation and we are excited to bring that experience to passionate wine, beer and spirit drinkers in the Bay Area,” said Kevin Peter, Total Wine & More’s chief executive officer. “We are excited to enter the Bay Area market, arguably the center of the wine industry in the United States, and share our commitment to providing customers in Fremont, the Silicon Valley and the growing East Bay region with a unique and outstanding customer experience,” said Peters.
Total Wine & More stores carry more than 8,000 wines, 3,000 spirits and 2,500 beers. The company strives to be the price leader in every market in which it operates and each store’s inventory is typically three to five times the size of its competitors.
Total Wine & More’s new 22,000-square-foot store will occupy a former Staples directly off the I-880 Auto Mall Parkway exit in Fremont. A typical Total Wine & More employs approximately 50 team members, 75 percent of which are full-time. Total Wine & More plans to open a store across the bay in Mountain View, California later this year.
Focused on the communities in which it serves, Total Wine & More proudly partners with local charities and organizations in the communities surrounding each of its 130 stores in 18 states. As it does at the opening of each of its stores, the company has selected the first of many Bay Area non-profits with which it will partner and support. For the grand opening of the new Fremont store, Total Wine & More will donate 10 percent of all wine sales from opening weekend to the Fremont Symphony Orchestra.
“We are proud to partner with Total Wine & More during its grand opening weekend, and grateful for their sponsorship,” said Eman Isadiar, Executive Director of the Fremont Symphony Orchestra. “Before opening their doors, they have already made a commitment to the arts and education. We value their generosity and are eager to welcome them into the Fremont community to help advance our mission of delivering live musical performances that celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the Bay Area.”
Fremont Mayor Bill Harrison, Fremont Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cindy Bonior, Fremont Symphony Executive Director Eman Isadiar, and Total Wine & More Regional Vice President for Store Operations Jim Weiland, are expected to help cut the ribbon on the store during a “preview event” on Wednesday, February 10th, the evening prior to the public store opening. When the store opens to the public on Thursday morning, February 11th, Total Wine & More will celebrate the grand opening by giving the first 100 customers at the store a free gift bag complete with a glass set and cork screw.
“The City of Fremont is proud to be the first Total Wine & More location in the Bay Area,” Mayor Harrison said. “Fremont’s retail landscape continues to mature and diversify, and no place better demonstrates the growth in lifestyle-oriented tenants than Pacific Commons Shopping Center where Total Wine & More will make its home.”
In addition to its excellent selection, Total Wine & More is dedicated to providing an exceptional wine-buying experience to its patrons. Its team members go through extensive, ongoing training including an initial 150 hours of wine, beer and spirits training to provide customers with staff that possesses an unparalleled knowledge of their products. Uniquely, the company takes 50 to 70 select team members from its stores around the country on each of two annual training trips to the Napa/Sonoma region, and 40 to 60 select team members, every other year, to renowned winegrowing regions of Spain and France where staff can meet with wine makers and develop a superior knowledge and understanding of the products that is then passed on to customers in their stores.
Total Wine & More stores embrace the tech-forward thinking of Silicon Valley and apply that to their customer experience through a food pairing app which is available on iPads at tasting stations throughout the store or on customers’ smartphones. In addition, the company uses its fully tech enabled “Wine Education Rooms” to host unique “virtual tastings” that connect customers with internationally-recognized producers like winemakers Chuck Wagner and Michel Chapoutier, vodka producer Dan Aykroyd and Samuel Adams brewery founder, Jim Koch. The virtual experience provides customers with an unprecedented opportunity to discuss the product with its maker in real time while tasting products from the comfort of Total Wine & More’s local store classroom.
To ensure customers have the complete Total Wine Experience, the Fremont store will hold a series of events throughout the weekend, starting Thursday, Feb. 11th and continuing through Sunday, Feb. 14th. The grand opening events can be tracked via social media using the hashtag #twgo.
Grand opening weekend events include:
- Thursday, Feb. 11th:
- 9:00 a.m. – Public grand opening (free gift to first 100 customers)
- 4:00 p.m. – Beer and Wine Tasting
- 4:00-8:00 p.m. – Live Music
- Friday, Feb. 12th:
- 4:00 p.m. – Beer and Wine Tasting
- 4:00-8:00 p.m. – Live Music
- Saturday, Feb. 13th:
- 1:00-5:00 p.m. – Live Music
- 3:00 p.m. – Beer and Wine Tasting
- Sunday, Feb. 14th:
- 1:00 p.m. – Wine Tasting
- 1:00-5:00 p.m. – Live Music
About Total Wine & More
Total Wine & More is America’s largest America’s largest independent retailer of fine wine, beer and spirits with 130 superstores in 18 states. A four-time national retailer of the year award winner, the company’s extensive selection of products – over 8,000 wines, 3,000 spirits and 2,500 beers – combine with low everyday prices and expertly trained team members provides a unique shopping experience for its customers. Since opening its first store in 1991, Total Wine & More has been committed to being the premier wine, beer and spirits retailer in every community that it serves. For more information about Total Wine & More please visit http://www.totalwine.com.
BevMo will be impacted more than K&L in that market. BevMo just isn’t staying abreast of smart retailing. Their stores are small and not inviting. Limited brands and not fresh.