Gary Hinton loves being a store owner. He works every holiday alongside his employees, walks customers to their cars and greets their furry friends, too.
This November marks ten years since he purchased Gomer’s Wine and Spirits on 75th Street in Prairie Village, Kansas. After a robust career in liquor sales management and distribution, Hinton appreciates the pace and freedom running his own operation gives him, while also incorporating his knowledge of what makes a liquor store so great.
“It's knowing how to run a store, customer service, and having the right products,” he said. “Being a distributor, I've probably set most of the liquor stores in town. Being the sales manager, I would do schematics or I would go in and set the stores to make them more profitable. It makes a big difference.”
Hinton’s favorite part of owning a business is working with his son, Jackson. Together, they manage, not one, but two Gomer’s in the Kansas City area. In 2022, they purchased the store on 103rd Street and State Line. There, they host regular tastings in The Ed “Gomer” Moody Tasting Room and host an annual distributor appreciation lunch. Knowing what it is like to walk in their shoes, Hinton is deliberate in the way he treats local distributors.
“Working for a distributor for 20 years, too many of these stores take it for granted that you left an empty box in the aisle. A lot of stores will call up and chew out the distributor because they don't get many allocated bourbons, and I don't do that. I don't have to do that. I'll get them in here and say how much I appreciate what they've done,” he said.
Hinton also shared his appreciation for his management team, calling them topnotch for the simple way they consider customers. This standard of excellence he set from the beginning and has earned recognition in local and national publications.
“They are the best in the city. We treat people right–we help them and don't ignore them. That's just the way people should be treating customers, greeting everybody that comes in the store,” he said.
To celebrate ten years, Hinton is planning loads of fun at the 75th Street store, including a bourbon drop and sales throughout the month of November. In the midst of the festivities, Hinton is excited to explore ways he can give back to the community for the support they have offered him over the last decade.
“I've done Veterans of Foreign Wars probably two or three times for charities, but we're always looking. We're always looking for people that need help,” he said. “You only have so long on earth to do the right thing. I see too many people doing the wrong things, and we set the standard for doing the right things.”
"I see too many people doing the wrong things, and we set the standard for doing the right things.”