A New Day for the Bottle Shop Liquor Store

New Owners Revamp a La Feria Landmark

Last summer, Eric and Tina Hoff became the owners of a La Feria landmark that has been known as the best place locally for getting their wines, beers and liquors for 40 years. This husband and wife team is now living a dream at the Bottle Shop Liquor Store located at 1314 E Business 83 in La Feria.

New and former customers alike are amazed at the new direction that Eric and Tina have taken for their new business. The previous building has been expanded and revamped from stem to stern. They have added an expanded inventory of over 400 varieties of liquors along with 80-plus domestic and imported beers, including a brand new “craft beer” section. “Craft” beer is the specialized product of small breweries Eric explained. “IPA,” for example, is a popular one,” he said. “IPA” stands for “India Pale Ale.” It is a type of craft beer.”

“More and more people are learning to appreciate fine wines,” he said, “ so we have a stock of 120 different domestic and imported wines from the basic, inexpensive to fine wines for sophisticated tastes,” “We continually keep adding to our inventory to satisfy the tastes of our customers.

“Learning about new spirits and wines is part of the learning process and joy of the liquor business,” he added. “That is why we have doubled the square footage of the building and tripled our shelf space for wines, beers and liquors. We are truly a “Mom and Pop liquor store–a truly ‘rare bird‘ these days.”

As we spoke, Eric digressed a bit to talk about his family. Eric said they moved to La Feria two years ago simply because of the city. “We wanted a nice, quiet small town with a good school system in which to raise our daughter, Morgan. She is a Junior this year at La Feria High School. “We had never seen such kind people and beautiful neighbors as we found here,” he said. Then, when the opportunity to own this business came along, we jumped at it–It was the realization of a long-held dream both of my wife and myself.

The owners say they intend to be an integral part of the community. “We are members of the La Feria Chamber of Commerce, and Silver Sponsors of the upcoming Fiesta La Feria,” he cited. The Liquor Store also supports the Wounded Warrior Program with aluminum can recycling.

About the future? “Well, we just got a tasting license from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), which means we’ll be seeing a lot of new folks when we announce our first event.,” he answered. “Oh, yes, we’ll be having our official grand opening soon, and our new paved parking lot will be ready for the big party—see you there.”

Anyone wanting more information about the Bottle Shop Liquor Store or the owners can call (956) 650-0720 or visit them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bottleshoplaferia.