Spec's Wine, Spirits & Finer Foods, is a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

family-owned liquor store chain, with headquarters in Midtown,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. Vicki Vaughn of the ''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...

'' said that Spec's is "known for its sprawling stores".Vaughn, Vicki.
Liquor store Spec's to open in Live Oak
" ''

''. Tuesday October 6, 2009. Retrieved on December 28, 2011. It is the largest vendor of liquor in

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...

. Dale Robertson of the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'' said that Spec's was "Houston’s 800-pound wine gorilla." As of 2010 Spec's is the fifth largest retailer of wine in the United States.

History

The original Spec's opened in 1962 in the Fifth Ward,

. Carroll B. "Spec" Jackson and Carolynn Jackson founded the store. "Spec" Jackson wanted to work for himself and make enough money so Carolynn would not have to work. The store's name originated from his nickname, "Spec's," referring to his eye spectacles. "Spec" Jackson spent $7,000 to have his first store opened.Spaulding, Catherine.
Pouring it on
" ''

Houston Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

''. Sunday December 8, 2002. Retrieved on December 22, 2011. Originally Spec's sold only beer and liquor and functioned as a neighborhood liquor store. 96% of the inventory consisted of liquor.Denis, Nicole Potenza.
Spec’s Wine, Spirits and Finer Foods
" '' Specialty Food Magazine''.

National Association for the Specialty Food Trade The Specialty Food Association, Inc. (SFA) is membership-based trade association in the United States representing 3,000+ member companies. The SFA was established in 1952 to foster trade, commerce and interest in the specialty food industry in the ...

. Retrieved on December 28, 2011. After several years the operations produced a consistent profit. "Spec" Jackson decided to expand the chain. Ten years after the owner decided to expand, Spec's had 16 Greater Houston locations. In 1996 the Jacksons died, with one dying six months after the other. Lindy Rydman, the daughter of the Jacksons, and her husband John Rydman took ownership of the chain. After a customer suggested that Spec's carry snacks, Spec's began to offer

delicatessen Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany (original: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the m ...

items. In 2002 the chain had 475 employees and 24 stores in

. In 2008 Spec's acquired Palms Liquor in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, giving the chain its first Galveston store. In 2009 Spec's announced plans to open a store in

Live Oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are not more closely related to each other than they are to other oaks. ...

, giving the chain its first store in

Greater San Antonio Greater San Antonio, officially designated San Antonio–New Braunfels, is an eight-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The metropolitan area straddles South Texas and Central ...

. After the City of Killeen legalized the sale of packaged liquor at the end of 2010, Spec's scheduled the opening of its Killeen store on August 5, 2011.Rose L. THayer
Liquor Stores ready to serve
"Killeen Daily Herald", July 16, 2011 The chain's first location in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex opened on December 19, 2011 in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. Goody Goody Liquor, a family liquor store company based in Dallas, responded to Spec's entering the DFW market by entering the Houston market. For eight consecutive years, the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' gave Spec's the "Best Liquor Store" award.

Corporate affairs

John Rydman, as of 2011, is the company's president, and he and Lindy Rydman currently operate Spec's. The Rydmans' sole child works for the company. Lisa Rydman is vice president of marketing. The chain's headquarters are located in Store #00 Downtown Location in Midtown,

, near

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Philanthropy

The Spec's Charitable Foundation, established in 1996, supports

educational Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

programs. Spec's holds an annual event, the Vintage Virtuoso dinner and

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

, which benefits the

Houston Symphony The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

Locations

As of 2013 Spec's has over 165 stores. They are primarily located in

Greater Austin The Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos metropolitan statistical area (or Greater Austin) is a five-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. The metropolitan area is situated in Ce ...

, and Greater Corpus Christi. As of 2012 the largest Spec's branch location is the Fort Worth Bryant Irvin location.Carlisle, Candace.
Spec's picks its first DFW store site, shopping for more
" ''

Dallas Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

''. Thursday October 6, 2011. Retrieved on December 22, 2011. The chain also has locations in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area, College Station, Killeen,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

, and

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northwe ...

Store #00 Downtown

The main Houston store (Store #00 Downtown) includes, in addition to offices, of retail area, a temperature-controlled wine storage area, and a training room. It occupies over three

city blocks A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets, not counting any type of thoroughfare within t ...

. As of 2011 it has 200 employees. Its wine and liquor section, taking up of space, has over 10,000 varieties of liqueurs, spirits, and wine. The store houses a beer cooler, which has 35 doors, and a walk-in cigar humidor, which has 900 varieties of cigars. The full service

takes up of space. Items at the delicatessen include caviar, over 1,000 varieties of American and foreign cheeses, crackers, on-site roasted whole bean coffees, condiments, smoked fish, jams, jellies, oils, pastas, pasta sauces, and vinegars. The store offers sandwiches made on-site. The store also includes a bakery, with bread imported from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The original Houston store has 21,000 specialty food

stock-keeping units In inventory management, a stock keeping unit (abbreviated as SKU and pronounced or ) is the unit of measure in which the stocks of a material are managed. Or to put it another way; is a distinct type of item for sale, purchased, or tracked in ...

(SKU). They account for 11% of the store's sales. Nicole Potenza-Denis of the '' Specialty Food Magazine'' said that the Downtown location, which the Rydman family calls the "mothership" store, is "reportedly the largest single wine and liquor store in the world." The store had been expanded to its current size in the 2000s, as part of the Rydmans' celebration of the chain's 40th anniversary. As part of the expansion, Spec's purchased two pieces of land on both sides of the warehouse and pieces of land along the streets between the warehouse, adding one block of land. John Rydman said that it would have been easier for Spec's to build a new store and warehouse on another city block, rather than renovate the original store and warehouse, but "we are locked on retaining the original warehouse and we want to preserve the look and feel we currently have." The original wine storage facility was several blocks away; John Rydman said that it was not sufficiently efficient.

References

External links

Spec's Wine, Spirits & Finer Foods
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spec's Wine, Spirits and Finer Foods Companies based in Houston 1962 establishments in Texas Retail companies established in 1962 Food retailers of the United States American companies established in 1962