Info On Opening A Liquor/Wine Store In The Gulport/Lyman Area Please? (Gulfport: loan)

[PNightbird]

Hi Ya'll!

I am seriously thinking about opening a nice and classy Liquor/Wine store in the Gulfport/Lyman area, similar to Pooh's liquor store on Hwy 49 for those of you familiar with it. I have been wanting to have my own business for years now, and it seems that Liquor stores do better than say opening a Subway shop. However the only thing I know about opening a liquor store in MS is that you have to buy the liquor from the state and just choose from whatever they have in inventory.

I really need input from anybody here who has knowledge/experience about doing this, such as:

What permits, licenses do you need and where to get them?

How profitable are liquor stores?

Can you live off the profits of a liquor store if you have a good sized one like Pooh's on Hwy 49 or not really?

What's the average markup for the liquor?

How hard is it to get a bank loan for opening this type of business?

I would really appreciate this info or any other info you have about doing this, because due to this economy being so bad, I really can't afford to mess up here..lol. Feel free to private message me any info too.

Thanks ya'll!

[mookster420]

you gotta make sure you got a pos system that will scan drivers licenses. i found mine at http://www.internationalpointofsale.com

[poptones]

Are you serious? You buy liquor from the state? So the taxpayers are in the liquor business?

No wonder we cant get some decent reforms going on here. What incentive does the state have to get out of the liquor business?

I know someone locally with a vineyard. That's even more crazy - he is not allowed to EXPORT wine from the state! In order to sell a bottle he has to get them to come to him. Given the soil we have around here and the weather, how much tax money are we turning away at the door?