Sam's Quik Shop

aleckpa

Maryland

3.56/5  rDev -21.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped by here in a trip to Cary. I've heard a lot about it so I had to check it out. I rate this place very high, but I wasn't overly impressed compared to other places in NC (GSO, Winston). Nonetheless, there was a very large selection. I do like how they have beer on tap, but I didn't have any. Their glassware selection was probably the best I've seen to the beer stores I've been to. I think their prices were similar to other places, give or take a few dollars. If I was from Durham, or lived close by, I'd stop in all the time. But I wouldn't go completely out of my way to come here.

06-15-2011 01:40:04 | More by aleckpa

kmatlack

California

4.71/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

Sam's is truly an amazing place to get a great selection of beer. I take a trip up to Raleigh/Durham once a month just to go to Sam's. Awesome selection of a wide variety of beers, knowledgeable staff, and reasonable prices. When they order too many of one beer, you can usually find some great bombers on sale for $2.99; I got a bunch of Rogue GYO beers for $3 a bomber. Just recently I visited and they started serving beers on tap. Another great thing Sam's does is if you buy a beer, you can get that beers pint glass from a HUGE shelf of pint glasses for $1. I absolutely recommend going there!

06-10-2011 01:19:31 | More by kmatlack

EasyReader

North Carolina

4.54/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

I stopped by Sam's on a recent trip to Durham, and it definitely lives up to it's reputation. I haven't really come across a better selection anywhere in the area. I doubt there is much that is available in North Carolina that isn't available here. They offer a nice selection of imports as well as American craft beers. I'll be sure to make another stop next time I'm in the area. The prices seemed reasonable, and I was able to pick up a couple of bottle I haven't found elsewhere. Even though I'm not close enough to shop there regularly, I find their Twitter feed helpful to see what's new in NC.

05-31-2011 01:11:24 | More by EasyReader

brstls4drmrs

North Carolina

4.44/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

You would never think this place had a wide selection of craft brews just by looking at the outside. It appears as though its a gas station from the 50s but when you get inside, WOW!!! Wall to wall with beer and they always have a few excellent brews on tap for you as well.

They do tastings often and have specials as well. They have easily got one of the best selections of beer that I've seen around. They even sell various t-shirts and other paraphernalia from several breweries.

They have a nice discount section, several coolers stocked with cold ones, and a wide selection of local NC beverages. Hats off the best beer store in Durham for sure.

05-24-2011 04:12:56 | More by brstls4drmrs

negroobserver

New York

4.74/5  rDev +4.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

WOW!! I went to this place while I was visiting my brother in NC. At first glance it appears to be a deli, but this place is awesome. More than 3/4 of the store is dedicated completely to beer. The selection is amazing. I found beers from all regions of the USA and also a large selection of imported beers. The staff was friendly, knowledgable and helpful. This place made me wish that I lived in NC, so that I could go there all the time. Knowing that my fantasy was just that, I ended up spending nearly $200 bucks on beer to stock up.

04-12-2011 15:47:18 | More by negroobserver

bosox941827

North Carolina

4.66/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Ahh, Sam's. What more is there to say?

This convenience store-looking (actually "looking" - it IS a convenience store!) joint with a world-class beer selection is a magnet for the area beer scene.

Pop in here once every few weeks, and their "front line" selection will have completely changed over. Better yet, subscribe to their twitter feed (@samsquikshop) and get up to date alerts for newly arriving stock. If you're nearby, you can make a sprint for the store and try to get your hands on the rare stuff (Hopslam, KBS, etc.).

Staff can be a bit surly/indifferent, but ask them about anything beer-related and they're more than willing to help. My first time there, I mentioned that fact to the guy working the counter, and he happily came out gave me an overview of the store layout, etc.

American beers seem to be their strength, but you'll find a great selection of Belgian, German and English beers here as well, some rare. For local breweries, they not only have an extremely current selection, but will also have fresh growlers in the fridge to take home. Prices are usually competitive, or just *slightly* north of competitive, but for the selection, those extra few cents a bottle are more than acceptable. Finally, for almost all six-packs, they allow you to break them up and take just a bottle or two, which is a fantastic way to take home a bunch of beers in one visit.

All in all, this is the go-to place in the Triangle for beer geeks.

03-31-2011 00:27:09 | More by bosox941827

woolyb

North Carolina

4.85/5  rDev +7.1%
quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

I'm lucky enough to live and work 10 minutes from Sam's. Wonderful selection of local, regional, national, and international beers. Almost everything (within reason) is available as a single or MYO 6-Pack. Local, fresh growlers are also available. Recently added (or maybe brought back?) in-store taps so you can have a pint while you shop. I have also stopped by during tastings from local breweries, which is great, but sometimes can be very crowded given the small space.

What really makes me appreciate Sam's is their fair pricing. When I visit other shops in the state, I see items priced $2-$5 more.

If you are in the area, it is without a doubt a MUST visit. As unassuming as looks from the outside, it is equally amazing on the inside.

02-16-2011 21:23:45 | More by woolyb

whartontallboy

New York

4.85/5  rDev +7.1%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Made a relatively brief - one could even say relatively quik - stop in Sam's during a weekend work trip to Durham, and I wasn't disappointed.

Selection is first rate. I was primarily looking for North Carolina brews, and they didn't disappoint. Foothills Baltic Porter, a wide variety of Duck-Rabbit, Big Boss, Mother Earth, Natty Greene's, and Lonerider were all on the shelves. Since I was in a hurry I didn't get to study the offerings quite as closely as I would have liked, but the rest of the country seemed similarly well represented. They also break up sixers to sell singles, which is crucial if you want to try a bunch of new stuff while you're traveling.

There were some real bargains on the shelves, too. When I stopped in all of the Rogue XS series nip bottles were marked down to $1.99 apiece, which is far and away the cheapest I've ever seen them. Everything else seemed pretty reasonably priced.

The glassware selection was right up there with most any you'll find in a beer store. They have a rack with probably 25-30 different glass choices, most of them priced in the $2.99-3.99 range.

I didn't get to stick around and hit their tap selection, but it looked like they had three or four taps with some pretty nice choices. I know they had barrel-aged Foothills Eclipse and Hopslam on, and at least one of the limited Allagash offerings.

To top things off, all three of the employees I dealt with on my visit were first-rate in their knowledge and were super nice guys. This store is so great that the staff could probably get away with taking on a sneering Comic Book Guy persona, but everyone was legitimately friendly and helpful.

Overall: Tough to beat this place. I took a cab from my hotel and ended up having the driver wait while I shopped, and I don't regret dropping like $30 just to make the trip.

02-08-2011 00:12:50 | More by whartontallboy

jpro

South Carolina

4.8/5  rDev +6%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

Going to a wedding at Duke last weekend gave me the perfect opportunity to finally make a trip to Sam's. After dropping off the wedding party for rehearsal, a couple of us decided to pass the time browsing, and eventually buying (a lot) of beer.

The selection at Sam's is hard to beat - its almost overwhelming. After taking a few laps around the store to get my bearings, I decided I hadn't been to a store that tops Sam's selection. A good assortment of Belgians, and other top-notch imports, along with a ton of American crafts and an impressive selection of NC brews. Also, there were a few rarities scattered around the store and quite a few offerings that aren't available in SC. I also noticed they had a "sale" shelf, with a fair amount of high quality, age-able beers (mostly of the strong winter ale, Belgian and old ale variety) that were 20% off. Also, lots of specials on select beers all over the store. In addition to the beer, they also had a pretty good selection of glassware, most of which was $1 per glass if you buy something from the matching brewery - seemed like a pretty good deal.

Quality also seemed to be very high - maybe its just the gas station vibe that makes it seem a little less than stellar, along with the loose organization of the inventory. After talking to the staff, it seemed they keep a pretty tight rotation on everything, despite the fact that everything appears to be a bit thrown together.

As far as service goes, I'm going to have to disagree with the majority of my fellow reviewers. I thought it was excellent. I was mainly looking for some beers that I can't get in SC. One of the staff was cool enough to take me on a brief "tour" of the store pointing out some of the more unique brews they had. He also wasn't afraid to say what he liked and disliked about beers I was interested in - which I found awesome - its nice to hear someone's honest opinion about a beer they've tried, which lent to the feeling that they weren't just trying to sell me stuff. I also talked to one of the other guys about shipments / stock, and he was helpful. Overall, I'd say the guys at Sam's are great.

All of this being said, I also found that the prices were very reasonable. They also offered singles from most of the sixers in the store, which is nice.

Sam's is a must stop for anyone in the Triangle or visiting BA's passing through (even if you're only remotely close to the place), and I will definitely go again next time I'm up that way.

09-20-2010 20:45:17 | More by jpro

JohnnyK

North Carolina

4.2/5  rDev -7.3%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | $$

If you are looking for your next brew fix and you are anywhere in the RTP region, this is the first (and only) stop you'll need to make. I've traveled all over North Carolina and I don't believe you will find a place with a better selection than Sam's. Also, the prices are completely reasonable and you can join their membership and get 10% off bombers and six-packs. The only down side is most of the staff are disinterested at best... every once in a while they have someone that is friendly and willing to help and provide suggestions.

07-20-2010 23:09:57 | More by JohnnyK