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Liquor, wine, beer and medical cannabis are all available for delivery in Missoula as businesses adapt to fewer in-house sales.

Doug Ness, the owner of Missoula Wine Merchants in downtown Missoula, was a busy man on Wednesday as he made deliveries of wine bottles and gift packages to homes around town. He opened his shop in 2015 and has always delivered, but now his delivery service is picking up, helping keep 11 part-time staff members employed during this crisis.

“We offer free delivery,” he said. “Now, the way most people have taken us up on that in the past, the most common way, has been around the holidays with gift baskets. You know, Missoulians are used to getting pizza delivered and various things, but not so much wine, groceries. In the big cities, people are used to calling up, getting online, whatever, and having groceries delivered, wine delivered, whatever it is.”

Now, he said, the coronavirus pandemic is giving residents of the Garden City a little more awareness.