Old Town liquor store will serve drive-through, walk-up customers who need ‘pregame’ help

A new liquor store that’s about to open in Old Town is tailored to women — especially women who enjoy the art of the “pregame.”

Michele Valadez is the owner of City Girlz Liquor , which is taking over the former Kiss My Axe space at 216 N. Washington, right next door to GangNam Korean BBQ . The store’s grand opening is set for July 26.

City Girlz Liquor will be unlike other liquor stores in that customers won’t actually enter the building to shop. Instead, they’ll either approach a counter set up at the front of the building or use a drive-through lane in the back and place their orders with a “waitress,” who will bring them their items.

The new store will carry wine, beer and spirits, Valadez said, and it’s designed to serve people — particularly groups of women — who have plans to “pregame,” or get together and enjoy drinks before they head out to the bars.

“This is a women-owned, women-powered liquor store,” Valadez said. “It’s not your standard liquor store where you see a male behind the counter... It’s more of a fun and just different environment. We want to focus on providing an experience.”

As part of that experience, customers will be able to order — for example — all the liquor and mixers they’d need to make a specific cocktail plus shooters, ice and fancy serving cups. If customers aren’t sure what they want, employees will have suggestions. Eventually, Valadez said, the shop will have a menu filled with pictures of the products it carries that customers can browse through.

The items people buy will be packaged up in “cute” bags, she said.

“We’re getting rid of that old brown paper bag,” Valadez said. “We’re changing up that experience and making sure it’s warm and friendly and welcoming and makes you want to come back.”

Valadez said she got the idea for the business when vacationing in Mexico last year. She was looking for a “pregame” experience there and came across a liquor store that had a drive-through and a waitress who fetched orders from inside.

“I said, ‘This is awesome. How do we implement this in Wichita?’” she said, adding that she felt the setup would also keep her employees safe and minimize the possibility of theft.

A 2021 Wichita State University graduate, Valadez said she’d been saving money for law school. But she decided instead to use that money plus cash she’d earned through local modeling jobs on her entrepreneurial dreams.

One of her goals with starting the business, she said, is to employ her mother, who is still working a high-demand job. She wants her mother to be able to ease into retirement, Valadez said.

Men, of course, are welcome at City Girlz, too. Valadez said she expects to attract a large variety of customers, including people who live and work downtown.

The shop’s hours will be 5 to 11 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays; noon to 11 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.

Valadez said her grand opening event will last from 7 to 9 p.m. on July 26 and will include samples, live music and a food truck.

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