TAMPA – Liquor Depot owner Trey Lawson continues in his father’s footsteps and is growing the family’s legacy as he recently opened the sixth Liquor Depot location in Tampa.
The newest location is now open at 3611 Hillsborough Ave., Suite 210. Trey purchased the business while he was in his 20s from his father upon his retirement seven years ago.
Trey’s father, Frank, opened the first location in 1990 on Nebraska Avenue previously known as Interstate Lounge. Upon retiring, Frank had four locations, each under different names (Liquor Depot, PIX Liquors, VIP Liquors and Interstate Lounge).
“My dad was the king of funny marketing,” Trey said. “Mannequins that he dressed up for every holiday in front of the store and bought an old school VW bug and covered it in beer cans as a work vehicle and branded an entire fleet of old school vehicles in yellow paint with massive happy faces on them and had the slogan ‘Spirits Low? We Can Help.’”
Trey grew up around the business and went to work with his dad countless times, including Christmas and New Year’s. The business was always around but it was never a thought that it would be his path. He graduated from Appalachian State in North Carolina with a degree in marketing. After college he had a successful career selling real estate in North Carolina. But he missed Tampa, so he moved back with his now wife, Talia.
Since 2018, Trey has been growing and making the business better with the addition of social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, rebranding all the stores to one name and logo Liquor Depot, adding the single barrel market, opening two additional Liquor Depot stores and adding Joy Bar a 365 day a year Christmas Bar.
A trend that helped with Liquor Depot’s success was noticing the Whiskey business was booming, especially the single barrel market in 2019 and 2020.
“Single barrels are incredibly unique and once they are sold, they are gone forever, never to be replicated,” Trey said. “Even if it’s the same mash bill for the whiskey, the single barrels are all so different. Depending on where and how long it’s aged can really make the product taste night and day different. This was something dad never had interest in, since he was in the business when vodka was exploding. One of my suppliers offered me a single barrel pick of Buffalo Trace. I promoted this on social media and sold it quickly. I will never forget calling my dad to get his advice on this. He said, ‘No way! Trey you are going to have cases of it just sitting in the store, but it’s your business now. You ultimately make the decision.’ I went for it, promoted it like crazy on social media and had a big release when it came in and within 28 minutes, sold out of the entire barrel of 200 bottles. I called my dad and told him how it went. He was blown away. I just selected my 110th select and will be releasing pick #100 this February 2025.”
As the stores gained popularity on social media and especially in the whiskey world, Trey was ready to expand and add more Liquor Depot locations in Tampa. In 2022, he purchased the fifth location, an existing liquor store in Town N Country on Waters Avenue. It quickly became a fan favorite and offers a huge selection of all spirits. It is the largest square footage store and is used for bourbon releasing events and offers a tasting bar for customers to pre taste the available Liquor Depot single barrel picks. In December 2024, he purchased the sixth location at 611 Hillsborough Avenue only 1.5 miles from Raymond James Stadium. It is a smaller store but is a great location for the neighborhood and anyone visiting either stadium.
Trey is passionate about giving back to his community and launched a charity barrel fundraiser program. He has donated almost $40,000 to former Buccaneers player Mike Alstott Family Foundation from 100% of the proceeds of three barrels they have done together. In addition, Trey was nominated by Max Miller, senior vice president of the Marsh McLennan Insurance agency, for Entrepreneur of the Year.
“My dad has been incredibly supportive and very hands on to help me get the stores up to the Liquor Depot quality,” Trey said. “Building shelves together and loading products. It is exciting to see the growth and I know I am still just getting started. I hope to continue adding locations and becoming the premier Tampa neighborhood liquor store. While the Liquor Depot locations might not be the 10,000-square-foot mega stores, they offer convenient competitive pricing, a wide selection and a smiling team member.”
Want to go?
Liquor Depot Tampa locations are as follows:
- Waters (7304 W. Waters Ave.)
- Armenia (6905 N. Armenia Ave. – Liquor Depot and Joy Bar)
- Nebraska (9403 N. Nebraska Ave.)
- Bearss (2534 E. Bearss Ave.)
- Florida (10005 N. Florida Ave.)
- Hillsborough (3611 W. Hillsborough Ave., #210)
On the web: LiquorDepotTampa.com.