Dan Murphy's opening sees independent Liquor bottle shops close in Brisbane ... trends now
An independent bottle shop that cheerfully served a local community for more than a decade has shut its doors for good just days after Dan Murphy's moved in down the road.
The quaint neighbourhood shop at Blackwood Street, Mitchelton, in Brisbane's north, is just the latest to go under as one of Australia's retail giants sets up in town.
The Liquor Stax-branded store closed its doors on March 1 - just five days after Dan Murphy's at Brookside opened on February 24 - as part of the redevelopment of the Brook Hotel, which also offers a drive-thru and pokies.
A closing down sale for the tiny bottle-o was held on the day Dan Murphy's opened as they tried to offload their stock at a discount. Nearby independently-run pub, The Woods, is likewise now battling to remain open.
The closure prompted residents who have been loyal customers for years to express their disappointment on social media.
'I would much rather stop in at Blackwood Street than go to the big-dog. Thanks so much for all the laughs and friendly service over the years,' one disappointed local wrote.
'Oh that's sad,' another lamented.
Independent neighbourhood bottle shop Liquor Stax at Mitchelton in Brisbane's north has closed down just a few days after Dan Murphy's moved in down the road
Small locally-run businesses staring down worker shortages and supply-chain issues are vanishing as big box retail stores like Dan Murphy's and its 'lowest price guarantee' spread across the country (file image)
Residents said they would miss the 'laughs and friendly service' provided when they popped into the local business over the years
The empty tenancy - just a three minute drive from the new Dan Murphy's - popped up on the Raine & Horne real estate site this week.
'Long-term owners seek the next quality tenant and will consider all serious offers,' it said.
'Join a great mixture of tenants including a coffee shop, bakery, fish & chip shop and thrift store.'
The small shop was dwarfed in size by Dan Murphy's owners, Endeavour Group. The company was formed by supermarket giant Woolworths spinning off it's liquor assets and merging them with the hotel and pokie empire of the Bruce Mathieson Group (BMG).
Along with its 248 Dan Murphy's stores, it also owns more than 1,200 BWS liquor stores, delivery service Jimmy Brings, Cellar Masters, Shorty's Liquor and Pinnacle Drinks.
The group also operates about 340 pubs - including the Brook Hotel - and 12,400 pokies across the country, the third-largest gaming operator after Crown and The Star.
Alcohol sales, long considered recession-proof, are expected to rise by 2.9 per cent in Australia this year with retail sales worth about $22.3billion, according to research firm Circana.
And Endeavour Group is cashing in more than anyone, selling one in every two bottle-o drinks.
According to Roy Morgan research, Endeavour does about half of all off-premises alcohol sales in Australia at an astonishing 49.2 per cent, with Dan Murphy's and BWS leading the pack.
Its online market alone reached $1billion in sales in 2022.
Dan Murphy's has about 248 'super-stores' across Australia with owner Endeavour Group selling a mammoth
