Fair pricing, varied selection, and philanthropy have always lined the pathway to success for Town & Country Supermarket Liquors. A concept founded nearly 50 years ago in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Town & Country has grown into a mammoth-sized beverage destination in the Rocky Mountain region. The single-unit store calls itself the largest liquor store in Wyoming and boasts that it has the state’s biggest selection of whiskies and wine, and it has expanded many times over its decades-long history to maintain that status.
Town & Country was founded in 1978 by Maurice “Maury” Brown, an entrepreneur who grew up in retail. Brown’s parents were grocery store operators and he worked in the family business at a young age. Brown, who was named a 1990 Market Watch Leader for his efforts in beverage alcohol retail, passed away in 2023 at age 90. Now, his daughter Laurie Talich is taking over the store, and she’s determined to carry on her father’s legacy of offering a wide selection of drinks products at a fair price while supporting the local community.
“Town & Country is a fixture in the Cheyenne, Wyoming community,” Talich says. “Business is steady for us. Since Covid-19, business has been very consistent, with brown spirits and Tequila leading the way, as they’re very popular categories in the Rocky Mountain region. I want to continue my father’s legacy of running a profitable business and fulfill his wish that Town & Country Supermarket Liquors continue to help the less fortunate in our community.”
Storied History
Brown was born in 1933 and moved a fair amount in his younger years before his family settled permanently in Cheyenne, Wyoming. His father, Russell, had vast grocery retail experience—he operated a Piggly Wiggly in Iowa for several years and then moved to Cheyenne to run Tip Top Grocery. Russell returned the family to Iowa briefly to manage another grocery store, and then settled in Cheyenne to operate a store called The Dugout with his brother, Maury’s uncle. Soon after, in 1948, the brothers built and opened Wyoming Trading Post, a general store that sold everything from groceries to farm equipment to beverage alcohol, with an attached gas station. Maury worked at the Trading Post for about ten years, until his family sold it.
Upon completion of the sale in 1958, the Brown family built the Town & Country Shopping Center, and Maury managed a small liquor store in the center for roughly 20 years. That initial space featured a drive-thru shopping experience and an on-site bar. In 1978, Maury and his father constructed a new and larger 12,000-square-foot beverage store within their shopping center, calling it Town & Country Supermarket Liquors. Maury and his father worked together there for 37 years.
In 2010, Maury was in expansion mode again, taking over an old Safeway grocery store and moving Town & Country into that space, where it remains today. Recently, Town & Country benefitted from another expansion, bringing the store to a total of 25,000 square feet. Now, along with beverage retail, the space houses an on-site tasting room and event space.
“The store has evolved over the years into a retail destination where you can find something for everyone,” says Talich, who now serves as owner and operator at Town & Country. “We carry the typical products you find in a liquor store, and we have a growing inventory of non-alcoholic options as well. The expansion of the liquor store and creation of a one-of-a-kind tasting room was one of our business ideas, so we could offer the public an opportunity to taste highly allocated products in our space that they might not be able to afford or be able to find in other stores around the country.”
The family history that’s wrapped into Town & Country is not lost on Talich, who is in the process of settling her father’s estate and taking over full ownership of the business following his death in 2023. Talich’s husband, Cory, is Town & Country’s general manager and he’s also involved in daily operations, and their sons Nathaniel and Chase have worked in the store during their summer breaks from school; both sons are in college now. “I want to continue the legacy that my father has worked so hard for, and I hope to pass this on to my kids as well one day,” she says. “Like my father, I believe in showing up to work every day and staying on top of issues, trends, and the overall operation.”
Maury was an active employee at Town & Country up until his passing. Talich says her dad often walked around the store with customers, learning about their experiences and their shopping preferences, and he also delighted in pointing out the store’s constant improvements and upgrades. He was involved in buying inventory and setting retail pricing too, she notes, adding that, as a child of the Great Depression, he always made philanthropy a focus.
“Maury was very proud of the store, his employees, and the fact that his daughter wanted to learn the business from him and continue his legacy in the liquor industry,” Talich says. “The fact that Town & Country Supermarket Liquors has continued to thrive and help the less fortunate for 50 years is probably the accomplishment we’re most proud of. The move from the older and smaller space to our new larger space has allowed us to continue to expand our selection in store and offer our customers the best selection in the Rocky Mountain region.”
Product Portfolio
Offering a varied assortment of beverage products across all categories—and always at fair prices—is the foundation of Town & Country’s business model. The family aims to maintain the store’s status as a destination in Cheyenne and the surrounding communities, and one of the primary ways it does this is by carrying more than 17,700 SKUs, including more than 1,800 wines and 1,000 whiskies, and close to 100 different beers spread through more than 50 cooler doors. Talich declines to share revenue figures but notes that beverage alcohol accounts for 90% of total sales at Town & Country. Within that, spirits comprise 50% of beverage sales, beer maintains 30%, and wine makes up 20%. The remaining 10% of total sales comes from tobacco products, food, soft drinks, and bar accessories.
Led by spirits, Town & Country’s top performers are Bourbons and whiskies, followed by Tequila. Buffalo Trace products are among the most sought after at the store, Talich says. To further appeal to whisk(e)y aficionados, the store also has a robust private barrel program, offering a variety of single-barrel exclusives for its customers. Recent private barrel selections have included labels from Four Roses, Chicken Cock, Bulleit, Wilderness Trail, Old Elk, Wyoming whiskey, and Pine Bluffs Distilling. For the most desirable labels, Town & Country offers a membership club, through which guests who sign up can opt-in to receive advance notification before highly allocated spirits hit retail shelves.
While wine is a smaller player, Town & Country is proud to offer what it claims to be the largest wine selection in Wyoming. Talich says red wines do well in the store, led by Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and red blends. Some popular labels include Chateau Ste. Michelle, Dark Horse, Ménage à Trois, Pepper Bridge, and William Hill. Beyond that, rosés and sweet wines are also on the rise—led by brands like Stella Rosa, Risata, Whispering Angel, and Joel Gott—and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from producers like Kim Crawford, Starborough, and Matua Valley are also gaining traction.
In beer, flavored malt beverages are growing. Brands like Mike’s Hard, Cayman Jack, Twisted Tea, Arizona Hard, Seagram’s, and Smirnoff FMBs are leaders in this segment. But Talich notes that Mexican beers and big-name domestics remain popular too, led by Corona, Modelo, and Dos Equis for the Mexican imports and Budweiser, Coors, and Miller for domestics. Town & Country’s beer cooler area was recently expanded from 40 doors to 57 doors to allow for more space to display chilled craft beers, seltzers, and the ever-expanding ready-to-drink cocktail segment.
“We’re lucky enough to have the space and fortitude to continue bringing in new and different products for our customers,” Talich says. “We don’t want to give any customer the excuse that we don’t carry a product they’re looking for. We pride ourselves on having a large enough selection that anyone, no matter how experienced they are with purchasing and consuming alcohol, can find something. We’re a destination and we cater to anyone of legal age who’s shopping for alcohol or non-alcohol items.”
Zero-proof spirits, wines, and beers are also a growing segment of the business at Town & Country. The store has increased its offerings in this sector from just a few non-alcohol beers to a large selection of zero-proof beers, wines, and spirits, and Talich says she expects the category to continue growing. Beyond that, the store sells tobacco products, snacks, sodas, and drinks mixers. The tobacco section offers cigarettes and cigars, as well as chewing and loose pipe tobacco, while food includes light snacks like nuts, pretzels, chips and dips, jerky, popcorn, cookies, and candy.
Town & Country’s recently added on-site tasting space, called Brownie’s Bar, debuted two years ago and has further set the store apart from its competition in Wyoming. Named after the on-premise bar Maury used to operate near the original store location in his family’s shopping center, Brownie’s Bar hosts weekly tastings on Thursday and Saturday evenings, often highlighting allocated whiskies, craft beers that are only sold in kegs, and custom cocktails from the concept’s on-site bartender. These tastings are usually free to attend and are often supported by local food vendors.
Further, Brownie’s Bar hosts formal tasting events that require pre-registration and show off marquee brands. The space has hosted samplings for the Pappy Van Winkle lineup, the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, and Roaming Road Spirits. “By creating a tasting room, we’re trying to stay in front of the industry and not chase any other liquor store in the Rocky Mountain region,” Talich says.
Community Outreach
Being a valued community partner was of the utmost importance for Maury, and Talich is committed to continuing her father’s work in that regard. “We still follow Maury’s philanthropic ways and give back to local charities, kids organizations, and local food banks that help the less fortunate,” she says. “Continuing to operate the business my father and his parents were involved in is important to our family, and so is the mindset of helping the less fortunate with some of the profits of the business.”
Talich says the store supports a wide array of organizations, ranging from 4H, Future Farmers of America, and Meals on Wheels to local groups like the Comea Shelter, the St. Joseph’s Food Pantry, and the Wyoming Hunger Initiative. In addition, the business has made donations to The University of Wyoming, Laramie County Community College, St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, its local animal shelter, and nearby high schools, and Town & Country also supports the Thankful Thursday initiative in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which bestows money to a wide array of groups and organizations.
As Town & Country Supermarket Liquors continues to evolve, Talich says the family has considered adding a second location, but so far no formal plans are in place to expand. She isn’t ruling it out entirely, though. For the near term, Talich hopes to maintain the success her father laid out for her in the family business.
“Maury created Town & Country Supermarket Liquors with the premise that he wanted to give the people of Cheyenne, Wyoming a fair price for the goods he sold,” Talich says. “He did this by buying products when they were on sale through the state, and he passed those savings on to his customers. We continue to operate following Maury’s vision, and in the same fashion so we can pass savings along. We hope to continue to grow in our industry and offer our customers the best selection and prices in the Rocky Mountain region. We will also continue to give back to our community and our customers. We want to be considered a destination, not just another liquor store. It’s the family’s wish that Town & Country Supermarket Liquors stay in the family for generations to come.”