Parkway Wine and spirits

After spending years in the fast-food business, Lee Nettles says he decided to shift his focus to running wine and spirits stores. The former Papa Johns owner opened Parkway Wine & Spirits at The Crossings in Spring Hill about eight years ago. 

He says the store's strong reputation has been built in part due to a great location and a very dedicated staff. Parkway offers customers a wide and varied inventory, competitive prices, and regular in-store tastings of different wines and bourbons. 

“We do a lot of tastings, with wine, for example, where the supplier provides the wine, and they’ll offer cups with small samples of red or white, so people can see if they like it and want to buy it or not.” 

Nettles says they often do tastings on Fridays, but it’s best to follow their Facebook page for the latest, most accurate information. This is also where they list sales and special events and let customers know if they've had a unique product or something they've been waiting for to arrive in the store. Many times, those specialty products involve a new type of bourbon.

"Bourbon is very, very popular," Nettles says. "It's doing extremely well, and there are so many new brands coming out. They’re always trying to come up with new products and new bourbon recipes.”

Some of his employees have gotten to know their regular customers so well that they have a great handle on their personal tastes and preferences. This helps when trying to make recommendations. Those staff members are just as skilled and knowledgeable at working with new customers. Many have accompanied him on trips to distilleries to learn more about the different bourbons and the bourbon-making process. 

“I’ve got some people very passionate about this business,” Nettles explains. “and they really want to make our customers happy."

The store has a broad selection of wine, spirits, craft beer, specialty drinks, and more. Nettles says they stay on top of current trends, so they’re stocked up with whatever a customer might be looking for, but if it’s something they don’t have, they’ll do what they can to get it.

In addition to the store in Spring Hill, he also owns Parkway Wine & Spirits in Smyrna. He enjoys running the two stores, noting it’s a little less hectic than the restaurant industry. The employee turnover rate is not as high, there’s less clean-up at the end of the night, and customers tend to leave on a more positive note. 

“With a lot of businesses like fast food, you’ll have somebody aggravated about something, like it’s taking too long or it’s late or whatever, and you just don’t have that in the liquor business. Your employees are happier because it’s hard to make somebody mad.”

He laughs as he says it, but admits he’s come to appreciate the difference.