Gomer's Fine Wine & Spirits

ByTor2112

North Carolina

4.15/5  rDev +7%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Traveled here in March. they sell wine & liquor also. Killer selection and very reasonably priced. Aisles somewhat cluttered and if you look real close they have singles marked down all the time. The cooler had a nice selection of singles also. Lots of specials. I found a 6-pack Goose Isalnd Christmas for $4.95 you just CAN NOT beat that. I recalled Beamish was soon going to be unavailable and their 4-pack draft cans were $4.95 also. I've never seen pub packs for less than that either. They had a whole shopping cart full of glasses that were probably freebies from the liquor companies but they marked as a dollar each but I got 4 high ball glasses for $0.25 each. A bunch of guys hanging around the counter were BS-ing with each other, but they talked with me about beer for a good while. I found Belgians priced nice and high-gravity beers priced good also. great Store

07-28-2006 15:27:45 | More by ByTor2112

bditty187

Nebraska

3.2/5  rDev -17.5%
quality: 3.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Update: The bloom is off the rose. IMO, this place is a bit of a dump. The selection doesn’t impress me anymore. The Belgians they off rarely seems to grow. Germans and English beer seem stale. They offer few craft beers; I only consider Bell’s to be great (Unibroue if you add Canada to the mix). There is never any help available. The beer section is a mess. I haven’t purchased anything here in my last 2 or 3 visits. The selection is boring and the prices are high in spots. I think Gomer’s has slipped.


Old Review from 03-25-2003:

(My old scores: Quality: 4; Service: 3; Selection: 4)

This Gomer’s review is for the Holmes location.

This review will be simple… medium-sized store, absolutely no glitz; no glamour… just four walls a roof and beer (and wine and liquor but who cares?). The floors are concrete, the aisles are small, full of boxes, and the employees don’t give a rat’s ass about you (unless you ask for help). The beer selection is very, very good… one of the best stores I’ve been too. Plenty of 6-packs to choose from… Bell’s, Rogue, Unibroue, Boulevard, Capital, and more. There are plenty of singles of imported beer like St. Bernardus, Rochefort, Chimay, and Hitachino, Duvel a good array of lambics. There is also a fair selection of cold beer. The carry an array of odd macro-swill (like Hamm’s Light or Hamm’s Golden Draft, etc in cases. Seems to have different beer every time I visit. The price of most of the beer is solid.

Gomer’s is the place to visit in KC for bottled beer.

04-16-2006 14:25:54 | More by bditty187

dreadnatty08

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +3.1%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Visited a couple times on my way to and from KCI airport. Place is bare bones as others have noted in terms of structure, but what it lacks in that it has in selection. Dissapointed in number of domestics it stocks, but alas, it's certainly better than KS. German and Belgium have plenty of stock in the back with all Rocheforts, most St Bernardus, and some other obscure Belgians I've not heard of. Plenty of stock of Two Hearted, but no other Bell's seasonals to be found (they did have a couple 4 packs of Pumpkin ale). Do not allow breaking up 6ers, but a decent selection of singles, mostly imports. Saw a Bud Private Reserve, kind of interesting. Prices all seemed reasonable (though Rocheforts were $4-6 a bottle, extreme? I think so). So most Ephemere from Unibroue. Overall, I spent about $50 in both trips on some Two Hearted, Delirium, Old Rasputin, Dutchess de Bourgogne, Ommegang etc.. Service was non existent at the register, but a distrib/worker? in the back let me know of beers they've stocked/stock, pretty helpful. Recommend for those in the beerless world of KS as well as locals or those travelling through. Royal Liquors kind of freaks me out as it's a glorified gas station, but it's nearby so check it out as well.

03-17-2006 14:42:21 | More by dreadnatty08

tjthresh

Indiana

3.65/5  rDev -5.9%
quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Gomer's is pretty much a one stop shop.
In the coolers the have a full line of Sierra Nevada, Anchor, New Belgium, and some selections form Bells including Two Hearted Ale. They normally carry a good selection of Colorado craft brews.

In the back left corner is where all the Belgians are. Most of the Trappist ales can be found. They have most Fullers and Youngs brews. A nice selections of German lagers including 5 or 6 from Ayinger.

I highly recommend that you check for freshness or drink by dates before buying stuff of off the shelves in the back. I recenlty puchaced a bottle of Fuller's ESB and didn't. Oxidized as hell. After checking stuff out, It was 4 months out of date.

Service is okay. Its mostly local Marines that work there as a second job. The most they know about beer is that it gets you drunk.

Gomer's also has an extensive selection wine, as wall as top end spirits.

04-22-2005 11:29:21 | More by tjthresh

Stoo333

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +3.1%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5

Gomer's has the best selection I found in the Kansas City area. They had New Belgium's Abbey/Dubbel, 1554, Fat Tire, Sunshine, and Loft. They also carried Bell's pale ale, amber, Kalamazoo stout, porter, java stout, Expedition stout, and Two Hearted ale (though not much of the latter remained after I was done).

Though I was excited about the New Belgium/Bell's selection, they also carried local Boulevard's beers, Goose Island, some Rogue, Westmalle, Chimay, Duvel, Rochefort 6/8, St. Bernardus, Orval, and Celebrator. There were many others, but the above were the ones that stand out in my mind.

Staff was minimal and stayed behind the counter, but they were helpful enough by boxing up large purchases. Gomer's at 9900 Holmes is my choice for beer shopping in the Kansas City area.

10-14-2004 18:42:05 | More by Stoo333

babydoc

Kansas

4/5  rDev +3.1%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4

Drove the seven hours from home to Kansas City for a conference, as well as for the opportunity to procure a wider selection than one can find in darkest Kansas. There seems to be a a varied selection of wines and distilled spirits, but I ignored those on my way to the back of the store, where a nice variety of American micros and regionals stood, along with German, English, Belgians, and even a couple Japanese selections. The coolers also had decent shelf space dedicated to fine beers, in addition to the obligatory macro swill. Macro drinkers do have to pass by some nice beer to get to the suds of the masses, so there is hope that they'll be tempted by the better stuff!

The staff on duty the night I was there stuck to themselves, but complimented my selections of Belgians and offered a couple of recommendation based on what I'd already selected. The Gomer's on Holmes (reviewed here) had a slightly better selection than the Broadway location I visited the night before. Worth the trip!

09-28-2004 04:04:04 | More by babydoc

elmocoso

Nebraska

4.05/5  rDev +4.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4

I'd heard about this place from my brother-in-law, who lives in KC. He took us there when we went to visit, and i was quite happy with what they had. Overall the impression of the place was good. They had some good wines, but, of course, i headed straight for the beer. It is located in the rear, with the right side containing more Belgians and imports, American Micro's in the middle and the more genaric stuff on the left. There were quite a bit of local breweries represented here which is nice.
I cant comment on the service much, for i didnt talk to anybody except to check out. One bad thing, i noticed, is they had a few wine mag's but i didnt see a beer mag.

07-20-2004 20:32:07 | More by elmocoso

DPMomutant

Missouri

4.15/5  rDev +7%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5

I have visited two of the Gomer's locations. My usual stop is the 39th & Broadway location and I've stopped by the 99th and Holmes location.

Both have great selections for stores in this area. The Holmes location had a bit more selection and a bit more stock even though some looked like it had been there a long time (not one bottle of unexpired Fuller's Porter to be found at either location!!).

You generally aren't approached by the staff but if you need them they are very helpful and friendly. They do seem to know their stuff. Was nice to one day find a BA Top 50 posted with marks by the beers they have there (not nearly enough LOL). Hopefully they can get that new expanded Top 100 list out there.

In either store the craft beer is toward the back, but about everything they carry is in a cooler. Weirdly enough, the selection of English, Germans, and Belgians is probably more generous than the US crafts. They usually have some new stuff every couple of weeks though, in particular it looks like they're getting in new varieties of Rogues which is greatly appreciated. Unibroue and Samuel Smith's are well represented in these stores as well.

If you're in KC and need some bottle beer the Gomer's locations are as good as any to get them. Don't forget to try local and grab some Boulevard or Pony Express beer while you're at it.

06-14-2004 05:48:11 | More by DPMomutant

marc77

California

4/5  rDev +3.1%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5

The best location out of the three Gomers is the store on the corner of 99th st and Holmes Ave. The store is quite cluttered, and upon entering, dense rows of wine and spirits do a good job of hiding the beer, which is towards the back. The selection is excellent. Many fine micros including most Bells, Capital, Rogue plus harder to find ones are both refridgerated and keep at room temp. There's a fine assortment of imports as well, and this would be the place to go for Belgians (I go here for my Liefmans Goudenband fix) and obscure European brews, including the now defunct Okocim Porter. Don't count on it... I will try to buy all remaining bottles. Don't beat me to it! Oh yeah, fine selection of Brit brews taboot. If you're into hot sauces and cheese, there's an assortment of that as well. This Gomer's is my favorite store in KC, and I make the 1 1/2 hour drive from Manhattan about once a month to stock up. The service is generally stoic and functional, depending on who is working. Definitely recommended if you're in the area.

08-08-2003 15:25:23 | More by marc77

Brew34

Virginia

3.8/5  rDev -2.1%
quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5

Unlike some of the other reviews I have found the service to be great. I usually went to the the Main Street location and found that while it is crowded and full of a variety of people (from your run of the mill winos counting the change for one more drink to suit-clad attorneys heading from work), it has a great selection of brew. Kegs of the local brew Boulevard are the cheapest in town and they'll even contact the brewery to get a nice tap. The prices are great, selection plentiful, and the staff has tried most of the products so they can give a good recommendation. I know this is a beer site, but the wine selection is great as well. Don't expect a fancy decor, but the selection makes this a winner.

05-29-2003 16:32:38 | More by Brew34