What is "bevmo!"

BevMo! is a privately held corporation based in Concord, California, selling mainly alcoholic beverages. The company was founded in January 1994 as Beverages & More! in the San Francisco Bay Area, and re-branded as "BevMo!" in January 2001. By October 2009, the company had 100 stores in Arizona and California. As of September 2013, the number had expanded to 148 stores, including nine in Washington state.

The company's growth has not been without conflict. Expansion into Nevada and Florida in the late 1990s was followed by BevMo! closing those stores for financial reasons. Residents of towns such as Santa Barbara have resisted the establishment of a BevMo! store, citing possible effects ranging from small business decline to increased traffic patterns.

In 1995, BevMo! hired Wilfred Wong as cellar master. Wong, a native San Franciscan who is a veteran wine competition judge and wine writer, assesses wines for the retailer and gives them scores on a 100-point system. Wong keeps a blog on the company's website, and helped establish "Vineyard Partners", an in-house label composed of wines that are specially blended for the retailer.