When I arrived in Phoenix in 2014 as a visiting professor at Arizona State, I asked my colleagues for a wine shop recommendation. The unanimous answer: Total Wine & More.
But it wasn’t just a wine shop: it was a beverage superstore, like a Target that only carried wine, beer, and spirits.
Now, Total has arrived in Ann Arbor, taking a space on Lohr Rd. near Best Buy that’s been vacant since Big Lots closed.
This is the second Total to open in Michigan. The other is in Grand Rapids, where a number of staff members went for training, said assistant store manager Amy Loik. Total also expects to add locations soon in Sterling Heights and Novi, according to its website.
Total was founded in Delaware in 1991 by brothers David and Robert Trone. The chain now has more than 215 stores in twenty-seven states, with concentrations in Florida, Texas, and California.
According to a flyer that arrived in many Ann Arbor homes during October, the local store will feature 6,571 different wines, 5,887 spirits, and 2,563 beer brands. It has more than 34,000 square feet of sales space–“bigger than the Yost and the Dee rinks combined!”
(Dee Stadium, for non-hockey fans, is the arena in Houghton that’s purportedly the birthplace of professional hockey.)
Shoppers will find case after case of wine and cartons of beer on the shelves and can take home chilled bottles and cans from the store’s vast coolers. There is also a temperature-controlled section where the priciest bottles of wine are displayed.
Total has a section devoted to Michigan wine, with 450 choices, and another with state-produced beer, including brews from Wolverine and other local breweries. Total says liquor is priced at Michigan’s state minimum prices. There’s also a cigar vault with a walk-in humidor.
There’s an extensive selection of nonalcoholic beverages, with mixers, craft sodas, and sparkling and still waters, along with popular soft drinks.
Pickup and delivery service will be available. Staff members, who wear casual white shirts, can help get cases down and heave them into shopping carts.
On the day of the store’s soft opening in mid-October, Loik said the store wasn’t sure yet what would be most popular with Ann Arbor shoppers. She expects to have regular tastings and other events.
The company made a $20,000 donation to Food Gatherers to kick off its Ann Arbor opening.
Total Wine & More, 3140 Lohr Rd. (734) 619-6465. Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-10 p.m. & Sun. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. totalwine.com
