Last call, a clearance outlet will open at a Giant Eagle in Columbus for two weekends later this month and feature closeouts on a wide assortment of booze.

The latest: Columbus liquor store clearance met with long line of shoppers

"Last call" might be a nightly event at local watering holes, but the state wants to test it as a liquor store concept.

Ohio's Division of Liquor Control plans to open a new type of liquor agency for two weekends this month. Dubbed Last Call, it will feature items that normally get pushed onto clearance racks or collect dust in the state's warehouses.

Giant Eagle will turn one of its closed stores, at 777 Neil Ave. in Victorian Village, into a liquor warehouse starting on Oct. 18. Last Call will run Oct. 18-21 and Oct. 25-28.

"We have lots and lots and lots of really good products that for one reason or another are last call products," said Jim Canepa, superintendent of liquor control. "People are always looking for value and deals."

The state's clearance rack booze isn't rot-gut stuff; it's an assortment of odds and ends. If a company changes labels or bottle designs, or discontinues a certain size, or if the liquor just doesn't move as quickly as agencies prefer, it winds up in Last Call. There are the typical flavored vodkas like Pinnacle Pumpkin Pie for $7.49 and cheap rums like Lady Bligh coconut for $5.99, but also rare oddities like Ardbeg Dark Cove scotch for $101.25.

"It will be sort of a treasure hunt," Canepa said. "There are cool things in there. This isn't garbage, it is closeout."

Giant Eagle's Neil Avenue grocery store closed in early 2017 but its liquor agency stayed open. Last Call will recast the space as a warehouse.

"It is going to be low tech," Canepa said. "Product stacked on the floor, dust on the boxes, you show up and you never know what you might find."

Giant Eagle jumped at the chance to do something different.

The state's former approach to liquor clearance was agency by agency instead of consolidating closeout items into one big bonanza. Canepa came up with the idea while shopping the clearance section at DSW, hunting for good deals on shoes. He took that idea, the warehouse or tent sale, and approached Giant Eagle with the concept.

Brian Ferrier, Giant Eagle's regional director of operations, jumped at the chance and offered to bring out Giant Eagle's food truck for the two weekends and give it something of a festival feel.

"I believe it's a fantastic opportunity," he said . "We're really excited about these weekends."

The initial list of Last Call inventory is out, and if you have been hunting for a bottle of Sailor Jerry rum or are just looking for a good deal on a bottle of Gordons gin, you're in luck. The selection spans not just types of liquor, from brandy to bourbon, but also brands. There are bottles of Glenlivet and Makers Mark, as well as Paramount and Cutty Sark.

While this is a short-term test, if it is successful, Canepa hopes to move it around regionally, to Cleveland and Cincinnati, then maybe look for something more permanent. A longer-term Last Call concept could help liquor agencies clear out slow-moving products and offer more of what regular customers want and it can help cut the clutter at state warehouses.

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jmalone@dispatch.com

@j_d_malone

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