![]() An additional perk was the upstairs smoking lounge and tasting room, which offered customers an opportunity to try products, which was also prohibited at a wine store. This exclusion prompted Woodard to open Woody’s in order to provide a more complete shopping experience. ![]() At the time the store first opened, Tennessee law prohibited the sale of products with less than 6.2% alcohol content in a store licensed to sell wine and spirits. The largest customer draws are the outside patio, state-of-the-art walk-in humidor, and a nearby growler station, which will soon expand to 32 taps. The intimate shop stocks a vast selection of cigars, tobacco, e-cigs, pipes and low-gravity beer. Woody’s Smokes & Brews, located in the Cool Springs Complex directly behind Cool Springs Wines & Spirits, was established shortly after the wine store. “The new laws enable us to sell low-gravity beer and other items, so we are methodically merging our other store, Woody’s Smokes & Brews, to offer our customers an even better shopping experience.” “We’ve entered a new era,” says Woodard in a very upbeat manner. Even with five other liquor stores now operating within a 5-mile radius, Cool Springs Wines & Spirits continues to see steady growth, despite the economic challenges over the last two decades, which resulted in several other mom and pop shops closing their doors. Since becoming the first liquor retailer in the Cool Springs area nearly 20 years ago, the Woodards have maintained leadership in the market despite plenty of new competition. ![]() In 2000, they acquired a parcel of land across the street and then built the shopping center that their store and several other tenants occupy today, upping the store’s footprint to 21,000 square feet of combined retail and warehouse space. The Woodards first launched Cool Springs Wines & Spirits in a 6,750-square-foot space next to the Kroger grocery store located on Mallory Lane near Cool Springs Galleria. “Then one day I saw a sign that said ‘Coming Soon – Kroger.’ That was the spark.” After spending two decades as a senior manager and chief financial officer for Tom James, a men’s clothing company with headquarter in Williamson County, Woodard recalls a time when Mallory Lane was just a little pass-through road on his way to work. While his gentle and amicable nature may suggest otherwise, Woodard is a self-professed aggressive businessman. One of the largest wine events in the Southeast, the festival gained the sponsorship support of several mid-state companies, including Nissan. In 2005, Cool Springs Wines & Spirits established the Franklin Wine Festival, an annual event held at the Factory in Franklin, that has raised more than $1.2 million for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. Also notable is the store’s commitment to giving back to its community. That preparation – along with substantial year-over-year average sales growth – caught the attention of Market Watch, a leading publication for market intelligence on spirits, wine and beer. Referencing the 2014 Tennessee legislation that allows grocery stores to begin offering wine in July 2016, Woodard said: “We honestly don’t expect our sales to go down when the new law takes effect. While the climate has changed with the new Wine in Grocery Stores law, we know our store is well-positioned for continued growth and to provide the personal customer service that grocery stores are not equipped to offer”. “Many people get into this business because they have a love for wine,” Woodard says, “But my interest came from a belief that a wine and spirits store could be a great business”. ![]() Woodard and the business, also honored in 2006, earned a 5-page feature in Market Watch Magazine. Woodard, who accepted the award on behalf of his wife and co-owner Jackie, founded Cool Springs Wines & Spirits, located at 1935 Mallory Lane, in 1995. Owner James ‘Woody’ Woodard: ‘We are prepared for wine in grocery stores’ accepts Market Watch Best Merchandising Award at ceremony in New York Tweet this
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