Now this is legit exciting. We got some new shelves!

You might think I'm exaggerating the case, or even being flippant. But no. These shelves are going to rock your world.

Old shelves: You struggle to find the wine of your desires. You get lost in the inconsistent shelf labyrinth which repeatedly points you to obscure ports in wooden boxes. You break a bottle. You end up buying the exact opposite of what you wanted, and never return to Rebsamen.

New shelves: You enter the store in total command. You immediately identify your Chardonnay of choice, collect six pristine bottles, pay, and exit. An unmatched buying experience.

​Come check out our shelves!

At Rebsamen, we are always trying to make the customer experience more aesthetically pleasing, as well as pleasing to the palate and the wallet. So we had a guy do some art! A friend of the store created some vines and grapes to spruce up our window displays. Now, when you look at our storefront, you won't just see our friendly faces, information about sales, and fine wines and spirits themselves. You'll also see vines and grapes.

Here's some news for you: We installed some new flooring. It's only in part of the store. This is perhaps not the most exciting update we've ever provided, but we wanted to keep you apprised nonetheless. We are always trying to make the store as great as it can be for our valued customers. Note that the picture does not show our actual new flooring.

When Copping Arkansas Liquor came under new ownership in 2014, the new owners kept some things just as they had always been -- friendly service, family values, fair prices, and a classic look -- and changed some other things. One of the things that inevitably changed was the name. The new owners felt the Copping name should be preserved with the version of the store as it was owned by the Copping brothers, with the new owners forging their own legacy.

Rebsamen was an easy choice for the new name. The store is located on Rebsamen Park Drive near Rebsamen Park, and our neighborhood clients are all familiar with the word. (We know you're not from around here if you call it Reb-SAH-men or use some other weird pronunciation.)

The story of how the street and park got named Rebsamen is interesting. Raymond Rebsamen was a true jack-of-all-trades: a soldier who served in both World Wars, a cattle rancher, owner of the local Ford dealership, first chairman of Metroplan, and founder of Rebsamen Insurance. Rebsamen Insurance, with headquarters just around the corner from where Rebsamen Liquor is now, became one of the largest independent insurance companies in the country before it was bought by Regions in 2001. Raymond Rebsamen was a generous philanthropist, donating much of the land for both the Little Rock Air Force Base and UALR, making a foundational gift to Rebsamen Golf Course, and giving a sculpture of Icarus and Daedalus to Little Rock that is currently located at -- you guessed it -- Rebsamen Plaza near the main library downtown. UALR named its primary campus for him in 2008.

While Raymond Rebsamen didn't have any personal connection to our little store, he was a major contributor to the development of Little Rock and especially our neighborhood, to the point that some people call it the Rebsamen neighborhood. We didn't exactly name our store for Raymond Rebsamen, but it seems like he's a pretty good namesake all the same.

At Rebsamen, we never stop improving. That goes for our customer service, our products, and even the physical store itself. If you've been by in the last two years, you've seen our new signage and revamped interior. Well, there's more. A few weeks ago, we added new LED lighting, which conserves energy and offers a pleasant atmosphere to customers. And just before that, we added a new security system that helps us stop theft and, over the long term, keep prices low. (Note to shoplifters: We also still have our "traditional" security system, and it hurts.)

​We like keeping our customers informed of what's new, and even though these improvements are somewhat under the radar, they are going to benefit us, and you, into the future.

We've got awesome, loyal customers. But for people who are new to the area or don't typically shop with us, we have historically been hard to find. (Hint: We're next to Town Pump.)

Now, you can't miss us. We've got a great new building sign thanks to the pros at Arkansas Sign and Neon. It's clean, modern, and classic. Best of all, as Tommy said, "You can see it from space." Works for us! After blending in for so long, we're ready to stand out.

We feel blessed to have had such a warm reception from our customers and friends. The last year has seen a lot of transitions at the store, mostly good ones. We're lucky to have kept the family relationships that make Rebsamen such a distinctive place to shop for fine wine and spirits.

Looking forward to a holiday season full of good deals, selection, and customer service. We're thankful for the opportunity to serve our neighborhood!

If you've been by the store lately, you've probably seen our newly refurbished pylon sign. It's not quite done, but it's close, and so far, we love it. That "LIQUOR" arrow and the poles are the same ones that have been there forever, but repainted. The "Rebsamen" part is our addition. It's a perfect mix of old and new that echoes the refreshed vintage feel we are going for with the store itself. That goes for decor, but also products and service. For example, we've got some new microbrews, but also one of the best port collections in town. We've got Ben, but also Tommy and Dennis. Keep what works, but keep it fresh. That's what we're going for, and we're thrilled that this sign communicates some of that spirit.

You probably know the brief version of Rebsamen Liquor's origin story. Today we wanted to give you some more details about where things currently stand with our renovations. It's actually pretty exciting! 

Through the first two months of 2015, we undertook some pretty intense work to clean the store, repaint, and remove old junk. The picture below is truly just the tip of the iceberg of what we removed.

At the same time, we have been gradually updating our product mix. With all the additional shelf space that we've discovered since shipping out the junk, we've been able to add a ton of new product lines. Our wine and bourbon selection is pretty darn awesome for this area. And our beer selection is getting there!

This photo shows us at an intermediate stage. You can see we've got some quality craft labels, and we were decently organized (from left to right: macro domestics, imports, craft), but we've improved since. We've gotten rid of some of the duplicates you see here and cycled in some great, hard-to-find craft beers. Ben Jordan, who joined in January, really knows his craft beer and has been working on keeping things fresh and challenging. You've got to come in on at least a weekly basis, though, because when we sell out of one brand, it's onto the next!

Next up is getting some exterior signage so people know we're Rebsamen Liquor and we are open for business. We've got a pylon sign that says "LIQUOR" out front, but sometimes it's hard to know whether that is an antique or a sign for a real, working store. Rest assured, we are as real as it gets. Once we spruce that sign up and get some building signage as well, it will be unmistakable.

We'll keep you updated!