Showing posts with label shopping tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping tips. Show all posts

Monday, April 4, 2016

Odds & Ends

We don't seem to have enough material for a blog post devoted to a single topic, so we'll touch on a number of different things today.

Instagram. Our Lawrenceville store is on Instagram as joe_canalslv, and Woodbridge is joe_canalswb. We're still getting the hang of it, but we just posted a few pictures from the Founders Small Plates & Sampling event at Woodbridge.

Timely Reminder. Passover starts on April 22. For the best selection of Kosher for Passover wines, we suggest you start shopping soon. We'll have a post on the topic soon. Vodka made from potatoes is also an acceptable Passover treat, even without any Kosher markings.

Our potato vodka brands include (alphabetically) Blue Ice, Chopin, LIV and Luksusowa.

KBS and other limited craft beer. We anticipate deliveries this week, maybe as soon as today. The most up-to-date information will come from our beer team. To sign up for alerts, send your complete contact information as follows:
-for Lawrenceville, to skubowitz@joecanalslv.com
-for Woodbridge, to srindosh@joecanalswb.com

Rose season. Seriously, the warmer weather is going to get here, and you'll want to enjoy some rose. The latest of the 2015 vintage to arrive is the Domaine des Grandes Perrieres Sancerre Rose. We sold out of this last year, so don't miss out. Only $14.96 in the Bottle Club®. Check the New Products filter at the left for additional, noteworthy rose's. Otherwise, our store team can help you find the 2015's.

How to Pick a Wine Store. The New York Times recently ran an article on this important topic. Some important points within the article:

-"Are bottles displayed standing up or lying down? It doesn’t really matter."
-"Big stores have to work harder to offer personal attention." (Our recent survey said that we are meeting this goal, but we always look to improve our service)
-"More important than the physical characteristics are a store’s atmosphere and point of view." (Our goal is to offer a welcoming experience, where we can accommodate the novice, the collector, and everyone in between)
-"Some stores track what their shoppers buy, which is great service." (If you're in our Bottle Club®, that's standard.)
-"Good shops understand that the best values are around $15 to $25, so they ought to have a lot of good selections in that range." (We disagree, to an extent. There are so many wines rated 90 points or higher at below $10 that you can enjoy an outstanding wine every night of the week)
-"The best merchants can teach you about wine, but they understand that a little information is often enough." (We think our staff delivers exactly what's needed here-a little or a lot)

Of course, you could just shop at Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville or Woodbridge, and be secure in knowing that we meet or exceed every point made in that article.

Monday, July 27, 2015

How to Shop at Joe Canal's

Our two stores are among the largest and highest-volume wine, beer and spirits outlets in New Jersey. Because of our low prices and exceptional customer service, many of our shoppers aren't "regulars," and may benefit from this quick tutorial.

How We Save You Money

Our strong purchasing power helps us bring in great products from around the world at reasonable prices. Thanks to your loyalty, we're often offered special opportunities for specific items, which we sell at the lowest possible price. And we have our own shopper's club, called the Bottle Club®, and members enjoy added savings throughout the store (look for the orange price tag). Membership in the Bottle Club® is free! Just sign up as you check out, or join at our website, www.jcanals.com.

How We Organize 

Our wines, beers and spirits are generally kept in separate locations within the stores. Special sale items and displays are the exception to that rule. There are an assortment of signs within each store that will also help you get to where you're going.

Spirits are grouped by type. All vodkas are together, for example. Irish whiskey is separate from, but near, Scotch whisky. International Single Malt whisky (brands like Amrut, for example) can be found closest to Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Of course, our rarities are also kept together, often in a locked case.

We also have an extensive collection of liqueurs that are generally subdivided by style. Our cream liqueurs (Bailey's, etc.) will be together, and will also be close to coffee liqueurs, orange liqueurs, and everything else in that broad category.

Beer is usually divided into two major categories: national brands and craft beer. Big-selling international brands (Stella, Corona, etc.) will usually be grouped with the domestic national brands.
Some of the craft beer selection at Woodbridge
There are, of course, variations to this design, usually because of the space required to display any particular product.

Top 100 Wine Display
We sort our wines in what we consider the most logical way. First, we separate by country, then by state or region. With our domestic wines, we then group by varietal and wine color within each state. In other words, all of California Cabernet's will be on one (large) area, and our Cabernet from Washington will be elsewhere. Our California Red Blends will be together, and our California White Blends will be together, but in a different location.

Generally, our international wines will be grouped together by region, and by wine color. For example, you won't find a Bordeaux in the middle of the Burgundy section. On the other hand, you will find everything from Ribera del Duero in the same area.

Don't forget to look out for our tasting events, for the ultimate try-before-you buy experience.


Other Stuff

Cheese display in Lawrenceville
We do sell mixers (soda and juice, for example), cheese, other snacks, cups and glassware at both of our stores. The ABC does restrict what we can sell (beyond the wine, beer and spirits), but we offer some great choices in those categories.

                  Customer Service

We believe that our exceptional customer service is our most important attribute. You can shop in a lot of different places, but we aim to make you feel comfortable when you shop in our stores.

If you ever have questions while you're shopping, please ask any of our store associates for assistance. Our Managers and Supervisors are generally wearing red shirts, and our stock team and cashiers were various Joe Canal's t-shirts (but they all should have the same style on any particular day).

Each store also has a Customer Service counter, should you have a special request, need to request/return a keg, or need personal assistance for any reason. There may not be someone at the counter at all times, but your wait will be minimal.

We also know that there may be times when you need assistance getting your purchases from the store out to your car. Our associates are happy to help. Simply let the cashier know that you need assistance, and the cashier will call a stock associate to the front.

Shopping From Home

Most of the products in our vast inventory can be found online at www.jcanals.com. We also post money-saving coupons on our website, with new offers posted every Tuesday. And you can also stay current with our Growler menu by looking under the Beer tab on our website.

Thank You

With all of the choices that you have in the marketplace, we do appreciate your patronage at Joe Canal's. Follow this blog, our Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to stay informed about specials, sales, tastings and celebrity appearances.