Photo by Deb Gau Better signage, so customers can find different varieties of wine and liquor, is one thing that Tall Grass Liquor store manager Eric Luther is proposing in the store’s 2020 budget. On Tuesday, Luther presented the liquor store’s 2018 annual report and the 2020 budget proposal to members of the Marshall City Council.

MARSHALL — Sales and profits were both up at Marshall’s municipal liquor store last year. And so far, Tall Grass Liquor looks on track to do the same this year, store manager Eric Luther said.

“Things are going along pretty well with where we want to be at,” Luther said during a presentation to the Marshall City Council on Tuesday.

In 2018, overall sales at the liquor store were about $5.1 million, an increase of more than $351,000 from the previous year, Luther said. Net profits in 2018 were about $458,000, an increase of about $45,000 compared to 2017.

Money raised by the liquor store can be used by the city. In the past, Marshall has used liquor store funds for projects like construction of the current city library building.

Luther and Marshall Director of Administrative Services Annette Storm presented Tall Grass Liquor’s 2018 annual report during Tuesday’s council meeting. In addition to sales and financial data, Luther gave council members an idea of what the store’s best selling products were.

With the exception of the month of September, monthly sales at Tall Grass Liquor increased in 2018, Luther said.

“You can kind of see, as we move into the latter part of last year, sales continued to be positive,” with more than $500,000 in sales in December, Luther told council members. “As we see in 2019, that sales trend does continue,” he said. In January through July of this year, the store had 123,472 customers, an increase of 5.29% from the same time period last year.

The average customer ticket at the liquor store so far this year is about $28.

“Domestic beer is our biggest seller, and somewhat our least profitable,” Luther said. Beer accounted for 46% of Tall Grass Liquor’s sales in 2018, but only 21% of the gross profits. While there is a lot of customer interest in craft beer, Luther said, people also want case beer at a good price. On that front, Tall Grass has to compete with other liquor stores in the area, he said.

Luther said there is also growing interest in products like seltzer water. In the liquor category, products like bourbon, Canadian whiskies and vodka were popular. In the wine category, Luther said, “Value wines and box wines lead the way in interest.” However, Minnesota-made wines are also strong sellers, he said.

“We are fortunate to have a lot of Minnesota wineries in our area, and we do sell a lot of their products,” Luther said.

Over the past year, Luther said, Tall Grass has “really invested” in employee training, and in making a better experience for customers. Luther was hired as store manager in September 2018.

“I think there’s been substantial changes, and most of them are for the better,” Storm said. “You can tell the store has changed, with a lot more displays, and it really adds a lot to the store.”

Luther said the store does regular in-store tasting promotions for products, and has also put on community events like a Valentine’s Day wine tasting and the Minnesota Made craft brewery festival.

“I think we’ve had really great support and tremendous interest in these tasting events,” he said. Tall Grass is also planning on doing a downtown walkabout event later this fall, he said.

Luther said his budget proposal for 2020 includes some additions to the store to continue improving customer experience and sales. It’s reflected in items like $4,555 in upgrades to the store’s retail software. Other proposals include new store signs to point customers to different categories of products, and a new refrigerated case for chilled wine that could be located near the check-out area.

While Tall Grass does have a refrigerator case for wine, Luther said, “Right now, it’s kind of buried at the furthest part of the store.”