Everything’s bigger in Texas, including beverage retail. The Lone Star State is home to many large off-premise drinks operators, but few have the scope and scale of Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods. What started as a small family shop in Houston in 1962 has grown into a beverage behemoth of 216 stores and $2 billion in annual revenue in the second-largest state in the U.S. The business was started by Carroll “Spec” Jackson, and today his family’s fourth generation is joining the fold. Of course, business has changed immensely over the years, but Spec’s has shown the perseverance needed to overcome many obstacles.
Though they’re all within the borders of Texas, Spec’s stores span a huge geographical area. The company has units in the state’s major cities—Houston, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio—and also in markets like El Paso, Killeen, and Lubbock. Some of the company’s units are hundreds of miles apart from each other, so even though Spec’s is a single state operation, traveling between locations is a big undertaking. Compounding that, Texas state laws prohibit beverage retailers from transporting products across county lines, and there are 254 counties in the Lone Star State. This requires Spec’s to have a network of distribution centers along with their off-premise stores and necessitates smart buying decisions.
“Spec started the business with the idea of giving customers a wide choice of items in all sizes and at fair prices, and he started with very little money in one small store,” says president and owner John Rydman, who married Spec Jackson’s daughter Lindy in 1971. Lindy is active in the company’s human resources department and their daughter Lisa Rydman-Lindsey manages charitable giving, marketing, and advertising; two of Lisa’s sons now work for the family business, too. “We work every day,” Rydman adds. “Now it’s just a function of geography as to where our office of the moment might be. Thanks to the internet, we can communicate quickly and even more efficiently than we did back when we had only 27 stores. We have a great team at all levels making sure that our guests get the best service possible and leave happy. We’re doing well despite the lower customer counts and smaller purchases.”
Charging Ahead
Jackson opened the first Spec’s store in April 1962. His wife Carolynn joined the business soon after, and Lindy began working for her parents’ company as a teenager. Rydman came on board in 1972 after he married Lindy, and at that time the business spanned 17 units. Their 18th location would eventually become their flagship store—a large warehouse-style retail outlet in midtown Houston that Rydman says is still the “mothership” today, though he notes the store has benefited from many remodels and additions over the years…