Marty's Liquors in Allston is closing

[BobB]

Word is their landlord raised the rent and they decided to just pack it in. Hard to believe any landlord in this economy would be so stupid as to drive out a paying tenant, but that's what the staff told me. The Newton location is staying open. Bummer.

[L84Dinner]

Just received this email from them:

Marty’s Announces...

Marty’s of Allston will be moving to our Newton location as of March 21, 2009. Thank you for your business and support for the last 60 years! We look forward to serving you at our Newton store.

[Allstonian]

They had the same info on several big posters in the windows this morning, also saying "only 7 minutes away!" with directions via the Pike. The "last 60 years" confirms what I've suspected, that the change from Macy's to Marty's was a name change only.

[kvn332]

dont be surprised if they move to a new location close by...............mum is the word.

[BobB]

Yeah, I mentioned that on Saturday above, and spoke with the owner at the Newton location yesterday who confirmed they are looking.

[WineAG]

Always a surprise when the landscape changes... then you try to figure why a place that's been around for years is closing. Of course, could be many reasons... but hard to believe it's the landlord playing hardball. Obviously, the place is not raking in the dough, so probably figure they'd consolidate and just concentrate on their Allston store... it's only 4 miles away. The beer, liquor, food business won't follow, but many of the high-end wine buyers who frequented the Newton store will. I've bought a bunch of wine at Marty's over the years. I have to drive there anyway, so for my wine purchases I never cared which store I went to. In fact I prefer one store, so all of the stock is in one place.

So, if the business level in Newton didn't justify a new lease, not a bad move IMO.

[BobB]

It's actually the Allston store that's closing, not the Newton one.

[WineAG]

Sorry... yes, had it backwards. So, what I said but reverse it !! Even better... better parking lot in Newton location.

[lergnom]

With all respect, it's common for tenants to say the landlord raised the rent because no one likes to say business has dropped - or frankly even if they're leaving for other business reasons. I don't know their situation and the reality - sad - is that they're moving out, but landlords generally aren't that dumb and certainly not in this kind of economy. Because this is a corner location, it's possible they have a tenant already interested but if that were true odds are the leasing signs would not have been up.

[hlerm2]

sunday ,cashier told me they would be out by end of month,, bummer. the space will stay empty for a long, long time, stupid

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Normally I would agree that "landlord raised the rent" might be a euphemism for business dropping, but...c'mon, it's a liquor store in Allston. Business could only drop so much. A Dunkin Donuts will go out of business here before a liquor store does.

[lergnom]

You can sell a lot of beer but if you're not selling wine, particularly the more expensive bottles, and high-end spirits then your business in that space with that overhead (which includes inventory & staff) may kill you. A standard "spa" that sells beer may have a handful of employees.

[Joanie]

That's crazy, such a huge space to be empty. I hope I can find that Lithuanian cranberry vodka some place else in town. Damn.

[another_adam]

I've seen it at Bazaar in Brookline, along with a variety of other interesting offerings.

[cindywho]

That's too bad - though my favorite thing to get there was the enormous jar of Dijon Maille - and they didn't have it last time I looked. Does anyone know of an alternative place to get the giant jar?

[Aromatherapy]

They had it a couple weeks ago. $15, yikes.

[cindywho]

No way! It used to be around $4.

[StriperGuy]

Too funny, cause I have bot that jar of mustard there on and off for probably 10+ years. Used to be $5-$6.

I agree with some of the other posters below that they probably just not moving enough wine for the space. It has been a long time since a decent wine person worked there.

[MtVernon]

I never liked this store because you could never just in and browse the selection without being trapped through going threw a register. The store always seemed way to crowded with a lot of clutter. I now live in Brookline Village and shop at the Wine Gallery. The best beer selection and wine selection, and it is a huge store..

[the modern serf]

That's too bad -- their prices were consistently higher than Blanchard's but they had a better selection of spirits and liqueurs. Martingetti's is nice but not really that T-accessible. I guess there's always Brix for the weird stuff.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Well, that would explain the "retail space for lease" sign that's been on the building for months.

Anyone who can't make money leasing to a liquor store in Allston needs to get out of the real estate business yesterday. But still, that Marty's is a distant second to both the Blanchards down the block and the Martignetti's on Soldiers Field Road, and it can't touch the West Newton Marty's, so I'm not exactly losing sleep.

[VivreManger]

Any sign of a going out of business deep-discount sale?

[BobB]

No, and not likely since they can just move the stock to the Newton store.

[VivreManger]

I scored some incredible bargains at another liquor chain that consolidated two stores into one. You are probably right, but it is work being on the lookout for a sale.

[winedude]

I'm with VM on this one. It's a lot of stuff to move, and they're better off blowing out at least part of the stock. Let's keep an eye out!

[BobB]

Update: their last day will be next Sunday the 22nd, and there is no special closing sale, they're just not restocking (the wine department is already decimated) and will move the rest to Newton or storage.

I had a chat with the wine manager, who insists that the rent being raised really is the reason they're closing, and that in fact they are looking for a location in Allston or nearby that they can buy so as not to have to deal with landlords any more.

[kallis33]

Seriously, it is a neighborhood with a large student population. While Blanchard's will do just fine for liquor purchases, I'll miss Marty's deli with it's tasty sandwiches and selection of gourmet food. Is the other location T accessible? Is the Martignetti's on Soldiers Field Road related to the one that used to be in the North End?

[Haute Stuff]

I'm so happy that the Newton store is staying open- I was just there this afternoon and thinking that t is the best wine store ever! The staff is knowledgeable and always comes up with recommendations- but there's also a friendly clientele. Invariably someone who overhears my conversation chimes in and comes up with a tip of his or her own. It's always a serendipitous experience!