SAN ANTONIO — Total Wine & More, known for its low prices and hunger for market share, opened its first San Antonio store last month — but only after fending off legal challenges from a local competitor that wanted to keep the big-box retailer from coming to town.

The store opened after a months-old temporary restraining order blocking the opening expired. The company that owns the Don's & Ben's and Gabriel's Liquor chains — one of the principals of which is Johnny Gabriel Sr. — filed the lawsuit, which is ongoing.

Based in Potomac, Md., Total Wine sells about 8,000 wines, 3,000 spirits and 2,500 beers at each store, so it can attract enough shoppers to drive a hefty sales volume. Founder and CEO David Trone said that strengthens the company's buying power and allows it to demand favorable deals from suppliers when it purchases product in bulk.

“If you're going to be the Walmart of the alcoholic beverage business, you have to have the best price,” Trone said.

However, “as we move into a number of cities, competitors are not very happy,” he added. “They don't like low prices (or) the heavy advertising that we do, and they often try to block our entry into 'their' markets.”

The San Antonio Express-News left phone messages with Gabriel's seeking an interview. An attorney for the retailer called back but declined to comment.

Early this year, Total Wine took over the former Office Max space at the La Plaza Del Norte shopping center and planned to open in the spring. It also scouted a site at The Rim and set aside $1.7 million to construct its second store here.

But the fast-growing retailer soon found itself in court.

Don's & Ben's and Gabriel's Liquor have a strong position in the market, with dozens of locations in and around San Antonio. The chains make up the bulk of the Gabriel family business.

Johnny Gabriel Sr. is the father of state District Judge John Gabriel Jr.

In January, the elder Gabriel protested Total Wine's application for a permit to sell alcoholic beverages with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, on the grounds that Total Wine misled the commission about its Maryland-based corporate ownership.

On its website, the commission states that before May 2007, holders of certain permits had to be Texas residents. But that requirement no longer is in place.

Gabriel claimed that Total Wine was not an independent Texas package store operator, as it indicated in its application. Total Wine incorporated an entity called Fine Wine & Spirits of North Texas LLC, according to the Texas secretary of state's office. But Gabriel accused the company of failing to clarify its non-Texas ownership.

In March, attorneys for Gabriel's persuaded state District Judge Solomon Casseb to issue a temporary restraining order barring Total Wine from doing business here for several months.

But the order expired in November, clearing the way for Total Wine to open its nearly 25,000-square-foot store across from North Star Mall on Loop 410.

With more than $2 million in inventory, the company's 100th location officially opened for business in Gabriel's backyard Nov. 25.

“We have no hard feelings against Gabriel's,” Trone said. “They're a wonderful family. They just prefer not to have us in San Antonio, and we can respect that.”

Since its founding in 1991, Total Wine has expanded to more than a dozen states.

Media reports show that the retailer has waged ballot campaigns to win entry into some small towns that tried to block it through the courts, and officials in Bloomington, Minn., recently postponed a vote to approve Total Wine's liquor license after receiving information about lawsuits filed against it in other states.

Still, Gabriel's success in securing a restraining order surprised Trone.

“Retailers just don't like competition,” he said. “That's very consistent. Luckily, the consumer loves good, open competition, and at the end of the day, because we live in America, competition prevails.

“The temporary restraining order issue, that was highly unusual,” he said. “I've never seen that in my life.”

While Total Wine's competitors may worry about a price war, one expert suggested that smaller retailers have plenty of other advantages to keep their customers happy.

Edward Hsyeh, a U.S. research analyst with market researcher Euromonitor International, said convenience can benefit small stores.

“People are willing to pay more if it's right around the corner,” he said. “They might not be that price sensitive, (and) with these smaller retailers, it's a lot easier to get unique and more crafty, smaller batch products.

“If you're new (to the market), it's very difficult to get into a store that large,” Hsyeh added. “Independent owners, however — they're more willing to experiment and introduce their customers to smaller and more interesting products.”

Total Wine has found itself pitted against Gabriel's in the past, though, in a competition for lawmakers, not customers.

In the Texas legislative session this year, the two companies came down on opposite sides of at least two bills that proposed extending liquor sales in Texas to Sunday. Some measures also would have changed liquor store hours to 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., instead of the current 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Gabriel's and other small retailers banded together and successfully killed the bills, arguing that Sunday and extended hours would stretch existing sales and likely not cover the overhead and extra pay they would have to shell out to workers.

Total Wine disagreed.

“Does it cost dollars to staff (the changes)? Absolutely,” Trone said. “But do we think we'll get more dollars back by giving customers more opportunities and times to fit their purchases? Yes. We've seen that in other states.”

Lobbyists for Total Wine successfully supported similar legislation in Delaware, Georgia and South Carolina. Trone said the company's stores in each state have seen greater revenues with extended hours and Sunday sales, and he plans on pushing the proposal in Texas in the next legislative session.

Meanwhile, the company is winning attention here.

During a recent visit to the Del Norte store, a customer described the selection as “overwhelming.” One beer enthusiast was making his second visit in one day, while a wine aficionado exclaimed, “This is like Christmas for me!” when she entered the store.

In the spirits section, Victor Price eyed a locked cognac case.

His shopping cart already contained several bottles of his favorite liquor, and he said he had cleared out two of the more expensive brands during his first visit to Total Wine a week earlier.

“I thought it was a little bitty store, but then I walked in and thought, 'What the hell?'” the 34-year-old said. “It's like a wonderland in here.”

nmorton@express-news.net

Twitter: @nealtmorton