Walt Johnson mans the counter at Radnor Wine & Spirits
I guess the world just needed a bigger MAPCO. The gas station decided to expand, and terminated the leases of the eight businesses that previously occupied the corner of Trousdale Drive and Harding Place in Crieve Hall, but the loss still stings. Back to Cuba is hopefully scouting a new location, and Mamma Mia’s hasn’t shared any future plans — one of the most charming things about dining in that little Italian ristorante was that, because since they didn’t have a liquor license, the best move was to walk over to Radnor Wine & Spirits to buy a bottle of vino from helpful owner Walt Johnson and his staff to enjoy with your dinner.
Johnson was grateful that he got a little advance notice of the imminent move, so at least he could find a new location for his well-stocked wine and spirits shop. He settled on a remodeled development at 2635 Eighth Ave. S. — under 440 where it crosses Eighth Ave and Franklin Pike — in part of what used to be the CVS on that corner. So on the positive side, it’s really only about a five minute drive from the original location.
His customers have been extremely loyal for the almost 22 years that Johnson and his wife Julia have run the store. Before that, another liquor store had operated out of that location since 1976. A big part of that devotion arises from the fact that Radnor has always been known as a really good spot to shop for bourbons and other whiskeys, including some excellent store picks that Johnson and his staff choose from single barrels at the distilleries.
The store isn’t huge, but it is packed with those bourbons, as well as an interesting selection of affordable wines that Walt describes thusly: “If we don’t like them, and we don’t drink them, we don’t sell them.” That’s good enough for me.
Back when the wine-in-grocery stores controversy was being hashed out legislatively, I was always confused by the claims of how much more “convenient” it would be if shoppers could pick up a bottle of wine while in the supermarket. I myself shop at several different grocery stores on the regular, depending on what errands I’m running or what specifically I’m looking for. Of the three Krogers, three Publixes, two Traders Joe and a Whole Foods where I buy the bulk of my groceries, all have a wine and spirits store within a block — sometimes it even shares the same parking lot.
For 99% of my wine purchases, I choose to go to local liquor stores like Radnor — and I strongly encourage you to do the same whenever you can.
