Friday 23rd of July 2010 11:44:12 AM

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The Downers Grove Binnys is a huge location with and incredibly big wine selection. As other reviewers said, they also carry spirits and beer. The beer area, in comparison to the wine, seems small, but that is because the wine side is ridiculous.

There was basically one big aisle for beer, but there was a section in the front left (as you walk in) that had specialty beers. When I was in there at the end of June I found 12 pack samples from breweries in Montana (Big Sky) and Fort Collins, CO (Fort Collins Brewery). The 12 packs were decent price ($12-$13) and gave me an opportunity to try a variety of beers from these breweries that I had heard of.

They also have a loyalty program that cashiers can sign you up for at the register. Pretty good spot if you want to look for different beers to try.

Thursday 25th of June 2009 03:26:01 AM

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Since its opening, I've tended to shop here more than at the Chicago store. Sometimes though, a trip to Chicago is required due to distribution issues between DuPage and Cook counties. Every once in a while I know the Chicago store carries something that they can't get in Downers Grove. Then again, sometimes I've found a beer (such as DuPont Avec Les Bons Voeux) here that I either ran out or was never on the shelf in Chicago. Service hasn't been an issue for me; I usually know what I'm looking for and can always go to the service desk if I need help.

Wednesday 23rd of May 2007 04:25:35 PM

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Sam's in Downers Grove is a pretty good store. In my experience, it doesn't quite seem as focused on beer at the Chicago location. Both locations have huge selections of wine and fairly large selections of liquor and only an aisle devoted to beer. But they seem to cover the necessary brands and honestly, it's not a short aisle.

There is also a refrigerated section of the glass coolers along the side wall that might provide you with a slightly different selection than the one on the shelves.

I've only been out to this location 3 times, but on each occasion I have found that there are beers that seem to linger here where they might have been snatched up quickly at the Chicago location. This is a good tip if you are scouting for the more rare selections.

Overall, I think I like the Chicago Sam's a bit better. But if you are in the area, shopping for plastic things for your home or garden, you might as well stop by Sam's to see what they have available.

Monday 21st of May 2007 01:58:22 AM

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Was just in here today looking for bob2 items, so not a bad time to do a review...

Sams wine downers grove is easyish to find as long as you know where it is.... the home depot and the golfsmith are your landmarks and it's right off 355 at butterfield road... if you happen to frequent the pace bus system in the burbs... the 715 goes past it, but it's more of a drive, grab and go kinda place....

The selection annoys me, because some days I want to give up on this store only because it suffers from county issues... this beer is only sold in cook county, not will.... so chicago remains the beer mecca where this is just a required stop if in the area... but then again.... things linger a bit longer here (fantomes, and other speciality beers) than in chicago. That being said....

It's not too shabby for beer... and it's the cheapest for AK and pride and joy from the floyds... 7.49 to the competitors around the way (binny's, famous, etc) They carry mostly full lines of founders, avery, brooklyn, goose, etc,. standardly found beers in the area, with the occasional specialty beer showing up Flying dog BA gonzo, the allagash line, founders, etc... The belgian section is fairly well rounded as far as bottles go, but again this is another overshadowing of the big brother downtown... They have maybe a 40 foot 5 shelf selection of belgian-french-german-slavic- english beer and almost that of the craft, with some ciders and stuff thrown in at the end... So it's not too bad as far as selection goes... You could go in there for a year and pull a new sixer every week.. with some belgian babbling and english just to make the english feel good about losing the colonies... Selection gets a 4 because there's room for more and improvement, but if you're in the area, head on over you'll leave poorer.... the keg selection is a different beast all together... if you need something, call to confirm on them kegs, and get their name.... it's a wicked burn if you cant get that taken care of...

shipments mostly come in on tuesdays with a occasional friday delivery if you're a hawker of beer.

Atomsphere is wine. Make no mistake... "Sams wine" sells wine. They're the biggest wine importers in the us... true story... but beyond that... it's a little constricted, they make good use of the space that they have and the marcey st. market is a nice addition specially if you're snagging some porter cheese to go with your porter... so good.

Service is.... as service does... There's like 3 good beer people, but they aren't there all thie time. So if you need something, like today, there was a guy who needed a case of pride n joy and the wine guys were around but they avoid the beer aisle unless there are champagne people (adjacent to the american craft aisle) over there... on weekends it sucks, during the week it's a bit betterer... but as a beer hunting fool, service is nothing but a price check if it seems too high or has no label, or not if it's priced wrong... sorry charlie... (I mean sams...)

I can't really check family friendly, because if you're a good parent... you don't take yer kids to a liquor store, just like you don't take em to a gun store... but i've seen kids in here, and it boggles.