MSA Pure Spirits 2018 Q2 - 43

FACES BEHIND THE SHELVES

CHRIS KASHAT
CO-OWNER, KEG & WINE PARTY
STORE, REDFORD

Facebook @ Keg and Wine Party Store
Keg & Wine Party Store is celebrating
its 30-year anniversary this year. The fam-

ily-owned business has been serving customers since 1988, when Raad Kashat and
his brother, Harry, opened it as a beer and
wine store.
"By the year 1999, my father, [Raad],
bought him out, then purchased a liquor
license from a business down the street,"
recalls Chris Kashat, who has been working
at Keg & Wine since 1999. "Once we brought

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Veteran Owned Established 2014

spirits in, it improved our business."
In fact, business improved so much that
they needed to expand. The Kashats built
an impressive 4,000-square-foot building,
which doubled their space.
Customers can also purchase pop,
snacks and tobacco-just those few incidentals that go hand-in-glove with beer,
wine and spirits.
How did you become involved in the industry?
Chris Kashat: I became involved in the
industry as a kid coming to work with my
dad on the weekends, then as I got older I
took on more responsibility. My father has
been at this location since 1988 with his
brother, so I watched the business grow as
I grew up. When I graduated high school, I
knew I wanted to stay in the business. I told
my dad we needed more space, so in 2007
we built a brand-new building next to our
old one so we could improve our selections.
About Beer/Wine/Spirits program at
Keg & Wine?
When it comes to beer, we like to keep
it fresh and keep our coolers nice and cold.
Our beer cave helps for our large packages.
For wine, I try to carry what my local
customers like and keep prices fair.
And in spirits, everyone wants to try
the newest thing. The allocations [system]
keeps it challenging!
[In deciding what to buy], I have the
old-fashioned inventory system, so I order
based on what we've sold and see what I
need-or on the hottest items or what people are looking for. It's an overwhelming
industry at the moment. I research on the
internet, plus we have a lot of vendors, and
they present items to us. Sometimes they
teach us about those items, or we look into
it ourselves to see what the brand is about.
What do you do at Keg & Wine?
What don't I do?! I'm my own boss, so I
like to do everything: I like merchandising,
I take care of customers, make orders, make
schedules-whatever needs to get done.
What do you enjoy about the job?
I enjoy the great people I meet and work
with. It's a family business, and our customers are like family to us.

SPRING/SUMMER 2018 43
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MSA Pure Spirits 2018 Q2

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