For many retailers, selling allocated Bourbons has become a headache. Should these high-demand items be reserved for a store’s biggest spenders and loyal patrons? Or should they be raffled off, which then creates a scenario where prized bottles make their way to the secondary market? Northern Indiana’s Belmont Beverage and Chalet Party Shoppes, owned by Tom Druley, have found a more altruistic solution—the stores’ annual allotment of bottles, including Pappy Van Winkle, are auctioned off, with all proceeds above suggested retail price earmarked for local charities.
“The auctions fulfill my interest in giving back to the communities where we operate,” says Druley, a 1991 Market Watch Leader. He notes that local organizations can receive as much as $50,000 from the proceeds of a single auction. “That’s money they hadn’t budgeted in, so the charities are very happy,” he adds. But it’s not just the non-profits that celebrate the tri-annual auctions. “Our employees really get behind the auctions. They bring a lot of excitement to the events,” Druley says.
For his commitment to aiding those in need within his market, Tom Druley is the recipient of the 2023 Market Watch Leaders Community Service Award.
Instant Hit
Belmont and its sister concept Chalet Party, which comprise a total of 34 stores in Indiana’s Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Elkhart markets, hosted their first charity auction in 2015, in response to a deluge of requests from customers for limited-release Bourbons. “We settled on hosting three auctions a year—one in each market where we operate—at stores with adequate event space to accommodate about 100 people,” recalls Gary Gardner, one of the masterminds of the events and, until recently, Belmont’s operations manager; he officially retired earlier this year after being with the chain for 50 years, but still works part time. The auctions were immediately popular, and the funds raised at the events consistently grew year after year through 2019.
The Covid-19 pandemic curtailed the hosting of these charitable events in 2020 and 2021. With their return in 2022, the retailer and local Bourbon aficionados prepared for the auctions to surpass their predecessors—in both lots offered and hammer prices. They weren’t disappointed. “Last year’s auctions went quite well,” says Gardner. The 2022 auctions netted some $160,000 total, which was split among three separate organizations. So far this year, the Fort Wayne and South Bend auctions have already been well received, while at press time the Elkhart charity auction was planned for this September. “At that first auction in 2015, we donated nearly $14,000 to a local charity,” Gardner notes. Last year’s South Bend auction alone raised $55,000. According to Clair McKinley, company president and Druley’s daughter, since the launch of the auction series through 2022, some $613,000 has been raised for area charities.
The auctions—called Pappy Van Winkle Charitable Auctions with permission from Sazerac—each feature about 30 lots, with contents of those lots varying from a single bottle up to a half dozen. In addition to various Pappy Van Winkle expressions, other popular lots include those featuring the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection and W.L. Weller. “We try to make the lots as comparable as possible at the three locations,” Gardner says. Professional auctioneers donate their time to the events as well, “bringing a level of professionalism,” Druley notes, and seemingly helping to raise bids. Prior to the start of the auctions, a Bourbon tasting is held, and attendees can examine the lots.
The auctions are open to anyone over age 21. “We thought it would be best to open them up to everyone, rather than just to those who reached a certain level in purchases,” Gardner says. There’s no prerequisite or charge to attend the auctions, other than the requirement to purchase a $25 gift card to the stores, a move that’s designed “to discourage gawkers,” he adds.
Belmont and Chalet Party’s charitable auctions are making a name for themselves, with each event typically attracting around 100 serious Bourbon buyers and collectors. “Some folks travel to all three auctions,” Gardner says, including a few attendees from out of state. “We’ve seen some spirited bidding,” he adds, as well as a growing sense of camaraderie among attendees. “Some of these folks make plans to meet up after the auctions and sample their winning lots together.” Indeed, the events have raised awareness about the chain’s overall spirits selection. “Word has spread in all three markets,” Gardner notes, helping to amplify the company’s reputation as a Bourbon and spirits destination.
Among the nearly two dozen charities that have benefitted from the Pappy Van Winkle Charitable Auctions are Shephard’s House, a Fort Wayne organization aiding veterans; RiverBend Cancer Services for cancer survivors in South Bend; and Safe Haven in Elkhart, which provides support to victims of domestic violence and their children. To spread the proceeds throughout the communities they serve, Belmont opts to select new recipients each year.
Father-Daughter Combo
Belmont’s roots date back to the repeal of Prohibition; it was the first licensed store in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1933. Druley purchased the store in 1971. He soon began adding stores in the Fort Wayne market, and in 1989, he expanded the concept into the South Bend area. Druley was named a Market Watch Leader in 1991, the same year his daughter joined the company. In 2011, Druley acquired the Elkhart-based Chalet Party Shoppe chain from Jerry Corliss, and McKinley—who has experience as store manager, district manager, human resources executive, and spirits and wine buyer—was named president. “I’ve been an advisor to her ever since,” Druley says, “but less and less, as time goes on. While I’m a numbers guy, she’s a people person.” That combination has helped the company to successfully grow annual sales revenue to $100 million. “Like me, Clair loves the business,” Druley says. Belmont is also a member of the Wine & Spirits Guild of America.
Beer and spirits each account for 42% of the company’s sales, with wine and miscellaneous items each comprising 8%. The stores stock more than 5,000 spirits SKUs, priced from $6 for a 750-ml. of Popov vodka to $2,000 for Clase Azul Ultra Extra Añejo Tequila. Among trends for spirits at the chain, Gardner naturally points to Bourbon, along with Tequila, RTDs, and emerging non-alcoholic spirits. Home bartending brought on by the pandemic has been a boon for the category, he notes, and has also driven sales of accessories, such as shakers, and garnishes like Margarita salts. Among brands, the usual suspects reign supreme. “Tito’s vodka ($27 a 1.75-liter) is on fire,” he says. “And any package of Fireball ($12 a 750-ml.) we carry sells. Fireball is the best thing that’s happened to Canadian whisky in years.”
Some 5,700 beer SKUs are carried at Belmont and Chalet Party stores, ranging from $5 for a 6-pack of 12-ounce cans of Icehouse to $18 a 6-pack of 12-ounce cans for the Stone Enjoy By series. According to Gardner, top sellers include Miller Lite ($14 a 12-pack of 12-ounce cans) and Modelo Especial ($19 a 12-pack of 12-ounce bottles), and non-alcoholic brews are beginning to gain attention. As for hard seltzers, White Claw and Truly (both $18-$19 a 12-pack of 12-ounce cans) account for roughly 80% of the market, Gardner notes. “Everyone else is fighting for the remaining 20%.”
Wine is a small category for the chain and is led by brands such as Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc ($15 a 750-ml.) and Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve Chardonnay ($12). “We have pretty good luck with local Indiana wines,” Gardner says, pointing to brands like Oliver sweet rosé ($8) and Two-EE’s Plonqe red blend ($13). In total, the stores stock up to 4,000 wine SKUs, priced from $5 for Carlo Rossi sangria to $490 for Taylor Fladgate 50-year-old Tawny Porto Golden Age.
The Indiana stores range in size from 2,500-12,000 square feet, with the majority sized at 5,000-7,000 square feet, McKinley says. Some of the stores, such as the Fort Wayne site on North Anthony Boulevard, feature tasting room space and walk-in beer caves. Indeed, with liquor stores in Indiana being the only retail channel in the state permitted to sell chilled beer, refrigerated space is a big focus for Belmont. Its newest store, on Stellhorn Crossing Parkway in Fort Wayne, which opened last October, features 29 beer doors and another six doors for wine.
Spreading The Word
While the Pappy Van Winkle Charitable Auctions have quickly emerged as Belmont’s highest profile charitable effort, they’re far from the only charity work by the company. For more than ten years, the chain has sponsored the annual Belmont Golf Outing, with proceeds awarded to non-profit organizations. According to McKinley, this year’s event will benefit both Shephard’s House and the local Better Business Bureau. Moreover, the company recently closed a small store in Fort Wayne and donated the property to Blue Jacket Inc., a local organization that seeks to train and find employment for adults facing physical and social barriers. Donations to larger non-profits, such as St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, are ongoing as well.
“The auctions have been a great way to spread the word about some of our neediest local charities,” McKinley says. “We have a good thing going and hope to move forward with them.” Druley adds that the company also will likely move forward with expansion, with more Indiana stores planned. To be sure, this Market Watch Leader epitomizes the mindset of so many of his peers. “I walk, talk, and sleep this business,” he says. “I really love it.”