Showing posts with label store. Show all posts
Showing posts with label store. Show all posts

Monday, April 25, 2016

Nuts and Bolts

We know that our stores can be a little overwhelming for a new shopper, so every now and then we like to step back and offer some updates, tips and pointers for everyone. This is one of those days.

Online Ordering. This was probably the most requested subject in the last couple of years, and it's now available at both stores. This time-saver is pretty simple. Log onto your account at www.jcanals.com, select your items, checkout, and the order will be ready for you, usually within 24 hours or less.  Get to the store, go to Customer Service and pick up your order.

Social Media. We've recently started posting on Instagram, while we've been on Facebook and Twitter for some time. Click to find us:

Lawrenceville Facebook
Lawrenceville Instagram
Lawrenceville Twitter

Woodbridge Facebook
Woodbridge Instagram
Woodbridge Twitter
Woodbridge tasting area, with floor displays

Wine, Beer and Spirits Tastings. You'll notice that we've moved the tasting locations at both stores. This allows for better traffic flow in the stores, and better access to the tastings. In Lawrenceville, we're usually at or near Customer Service. In Woodbridge, we're in the middle of the store.

Weddings and Events. Did you know that Joe Canal's can help you with beverage selections for your wedding, college graduation party, or other special event? Our experts can help you select the best products for your budget, as well as the right amount of beer, wine or spirits, based on your guest list. Click here for more information in Lawrenceville, and click here for Woodbridge.

Harley-Davidson Raffle. We're about a month away from the display being set. In the month of June, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle will be on display inside Joe Canal's in Woodbridge. Throughout the summer, that bike will also be on display at only three other locations in New Jersey. At the end of the summer, that bike will be raffled off. We will accept raffle entries at both stores, but the bike will only be displayed at our Woodbridge location. We will post more about this promotion as the information comes in.

Shelves. How we arrange the products on the shelves is, we think, a common-sense approach. Wine, in general, is arranged by country, then region. French wines, for example, are all in one section, with Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhone regions side-by-side. Bordeaux, for one, is then further divided into appellations like St. Emilion, Medoc, etc. The same applies to the other regions.

It's likely that we carry more wines from California than any other area. We divide CA wines by varietal, since that's the way most people will shop.

Racking system
In the aisles, we have regular shelf displays, floor displays, and what we call "racking," where our fast-selling wines are available. The racking lets us display full cases below the wine bottles, for self-serve shopping. Since a case of wine weighs about 40 pounds, our staff members will be happy to help place a case in your shopping cart.

Spirits are grouped by category. All the Scotch whisky is in one place, and vodka is in another, and so on. Craft beer is next to the national beer brands. Our refrigerated cases hold both beer and wine. We have smaller refrigerated units for cheese and meat products.

We hope this brief primer/reminder is helpful. Please don't hesitate to ask us questions.

Monday, February 29, 2016

Leap Day Store Updates

We hope you're able to enjoy this extra day. We tried to work it like clock changing and sleep through the day, but that didn't go well. So we'll all enjoy this posting instead.

Lawrenceville is closing out the Leap Year Sale & Celebration with wine tastings all day long. We started at 9am, and we end with a dessert wine tasting session from 5-7pm. Click here for the full list, or just stop in.

The bigger news out of Lawrenceville is that we're starting the online ordering/in-store pickup service today. Even with an extra day, we know that time can be tight. This service allows you to order from anywhere-your office, the train, etc., and our staff will assemble the order and have it ready for you. Click here for complete details on this great new service (Please note that this service is already in place in Woodbridge).

We hope that you've noticed our new store sign, on the previously
blank west side of our building. We fielded lots calls from people who were in the Mercer Mall, but were unable to find us. There was a lot of red tape to cut through, but we were finally able to get the sign added to the building.

Woodbridge is welcoming New Belgium's Fat Tire Amber Ale with samplings on three consecutive days, beginning March 17. We
anticipate having the beer available for sale on March 14 in both stores, and we'll provide additional updates as we get closer. Your blogger had previously brought Fat Tire home from road trips, so we're among the many who are happy to see it coming to our stores.

Also in Woodbridge, we're maintaining an email list for anyone who wants updates on craft beer deliveries. To join the list, send an email with your name and contact info to srindosh@joecanalswb.com. Please put "beer list" in the subject line. In the very near future, we'll add lists for wine and spirits items as well.

Find us on social media by clicking on these links:

Lawrenceville Facebook
Lawrenceville Twitter
Woodbridge Facebook
Woodbridge Twitter

Please note that we publish Twitter-exclusive coupons every Thursday. That's in addition to the weekly coupons we publish on our website every Tuesday.

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.