Simone's Beverage & Deli

AltBock

Ohio

2.95/5  rDev -23.2%
quality: 2.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Simone's is situated on the corner of Detroit and Riverside Drive in a tiny plaza with a H&R Block and a Papa John's Pizza. It's around the corner from the bridge to Rocky River. They have plenty of free parking in the front so you don't need to mess with those meters or somebody hitting your car while it's parked on Detroit. Do you know what an unkempt big city liquor store looks like? If you do, then you already know what Simone's looks like. The booze and few snack foods is on the right (when you first walk in), wine on the far left and the beer in the middle, the back in refrigerators, and on a metal shelf in front of the refrigerators. BA says that it has a deli, but I failed to see one there. If there was one, I guess I missed it and it was way in the back toward the wine. They keep the beer 12 packs in the middle, while they keep a few craft beer bombers and six packs in the refrigerators. A majority of the bombers and 750s are on the metal rack.

The service here has the same hospitality as a run in run out macro beer selling gas station convenience store. I only saw one person and he was up front watching a little TV. He only got up from his TV watching when somebody went to check out. I was walking around for about 10 minutes and he's the only one I saw. I got the feeling that they don't know much about the beer they sell, but I guess I could be wrong and got the wrong person on the wrong day.

I came on the beer refrigerators from the right and wasn't impressed. All I saw were a few bombers of Stone and a couple of Bell's, Pyramid, Great Lakes and Victory six packs. I kept walking and there I found their sale rack that contained some old bombers of Buckeye Brewing, Weltenburger, Ommegang, Unibroue, singles of Corona, and clear bottles of Greene King's "The Beer To Dine For" for only $2 a bottle. It's more than likely it's oxidized, but still, it was only $2. There was more bottles on that rack, but I can't remember them because I was amazed to see an English beer for $2. I took a right and went down the refridgerator/metal shelf aisle and walked past a few Lambics and a couple of American craft beer six packs, like Bell's and Stoudt's on the lower bottom shelf. The beer refrigerator down that aisle just a few craft six packs, like Lagunitas and Sierra Nevada, and six packs of Yinpu for $3 a six pack! It tastes like crap, but here it's cheap crap. Might make a decent cooking beer then. When I got down to end, I thought this can't be it. So I took a left and I found the big beer metal rack aisle that made Simone's be added to BA's Beerfly guide. That beer aisle contained Stone's regular and seasonal bombers, Magic Hat, La Chouffe, Hoppin' Frog, Unibroue, Ayinger, Goose Island, DFH, Delirium, St. Bernardus, Weltenburger, Moosbacher, and tons of Russian and Eastern European beers that you've probably never seen before. Most of Eastern European beers came from the Czech Republic, while the others I couldn't read where they came from. There were plenty more American micros and non Eastern European imports on that aisle that I can't remember right now.

Simone's is a decent place to stop if your in that part of Lakewood. If you're looking for some kind of Russian or Eastern European beer that you can't pronounce or to see what they have on sale (Yinpu for $3/6 pack) then stop here. Simone's also comes in handy if you want to buy some of the hard stuff with your beer. Most of the beer stores in that area don't offer that.

04-11-2007 06:02:51 | More by AltBock

ubiquibeer

Ohio

3.55/5  rDev -7.6%
quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4

My first visit to this place was filled with anticipation--it had a higher rating then Rosi's, just up the street, and that's a pretty good place.

Although the place DID have a decent selection, the service was terrible. If you didn't know exactly what you wanted you were out of luck.

The selection was good, the store was clean and fairly well organized, but I would recommend a trip just up the street to Rosi's Wine House first for the one-two punch of good beer stores on Detroit Avenue in Cleveland.

12-30-2003 13:21:52 | More by ubiquibeer

PBRstreetgang

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev -3.6%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

Easy to find- right on the main drag -brightly lit on the corner with decent parking. A good selection of wines, and the Liquors are vast and varied. They even have a few Meads.

Some of the beer is on the back wall of the store in door freezers. The rest is on dry shelving just behind that. The previous beerfly reviews for this place say it doesn't have much beer to choose from-mabye some of the other reviewers didn't see these other shelves- I noticed a lot of shelf talkers and signs reading "Finally here! or "Now in stock!"-so mabye they have recently expanded?

Loads of rare imports from small countires, requeset Belgian offerings, many well-known and sought-after domestics, Trappist ales, not to mention local breweries Hoppin' Frog, Buckeye Brewing Co., and of course Great Lakes. Stock appears fresh and well-maintained- except for one shelf in the back corner with several broken bottles and trash on it.

Employees seemed verey freindly ans accomadating- they will help you find something- if you can tear them away from the T.V.

Prices were about average, and I saw some seasonals marked down, no doubt to liquidate excess stock. If you live in Lakewood, you should feel pretty good about your choices of where to buy craft beer. Mabye it's not my first choice, but I am most likey to stop here because they keep much better hours than Rozi's.

03-05-2007 08:13:46 | More by PBRstreetgang

jeffmonarch

Maryland

3.7/5  rDev -3.6%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

This place has beer liquor and wine. They have a good selection. The service was ok. They didn't seem to care if i was there or not. They also have a $10 minimum for credit cards. What makes this place special is all of the different sampler packs. I counted over 15 different packs. This is some of the other things I found:

Great Lakes - strong presentation
Stone - strong presentation
DogfishHead
Celebrator
Chimay - red white and blue
Aventinus
Unibrou - strong presentation
Magic hat - strong presentation

12-13-2007 07:00:21 | More by jeffmonarch

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.85/5  rDev +0.3%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4

If Simone's had been my first exposure to Ohio beer stores, I would have been sufficiently agog at the selection. As it was, I had just come from Rozi's and (IMO) this place didn't quite measure up. Looks like a typical convenience mart from the outside and on the inside as well. I saw nothing that I hadn't seen down the road at Rozi's with the possible exception of a dozen or so German beers that were new to me.

Points for cleanliness, bright light and neat shelves. The bottles were all perfectly in-line and gleamed as if just polished. I didn't make much of an effort to compare prices, but they seemed about the same as other stores in the state. As was the case with Rozi's, if I didn't already have a car full of beer, I could have made a significant dent in the inventory. I didn't see Alesmith or Three Floyds which seemed odd.

The guy at the front counter didn't seem to be much more than a 'checker-outer', but in fairness, I didn't ask for any help. If you're in the area, I'd say hit both Rozi's and Simone's. If you're pressed for time or want to do one-stop shopping, Rozi's is the clear choice as far as I'm concerned.

12-16-2004 15:40:38 | More by BuckeyeNation

misterhops

Ohio

4.41/5  rDev +14.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

As I was reading some of the previous reviews of Simone's, I began to wonder if I was even reading about the same place. Then I realized that the last review was in 2007....

WOW! things have really changed in the last 4 years (for the better, of course!). I live in Lakewood, and Simone's is my go to place for craft beer. Their selection is the best on the westside of Cleveland, and they carry single bottles, bombers, six-packs, kegs, etc, etc. They even have a huge selection of craft beer glassware!

The owner Marc is a super nice guy, and loves beer himself. Everytime I buy a beer that I intend to age, he tells me he has one in his own personal cellar. They have a strong presence on facebook and twitter, with frequent updates and new arrivals. They listen to customers requests and always make an effort to get them. Their selection of imports is limited, but I don't drink a ton of that anyways.

If you are in the Cleveland area, I definitely recommend stopping by. Cheers.

06-08-2011 19:17:00 | More by misterhops

Hubajube

Ohio

4.74/5  rDev +23.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Simone's is loaded with beer. There's an aisle for larger bottles, one for smaller bottles, two for 4 and 6 packs, and a row of coolers. You'll see all of the beers normally distributed to Cleveland here, as well as a few outliers you won't see elsewhere. The guy that runs the place is a big beer fan too, and does a great job pointing out some ones I may have missed.

Now Simone's only ramped up on its beer a few years ago, so if you haven't been for a while, you need to check it out again. This store simply has the best beer selection in Cleveland. The whiskey selection is good as well, about as good as Cleveland gets.

Detroit Avenue makes for a great Cleveland tour de beer these days. From west to east there are Simone's, Friendly Mini Mart, Ross Deli, Rozi's, Deagan's, Melt and EZ Shop, all with great selections.

04-25-2012 13:24:17 | More by Hubajube