The beverage alcohol retail is strengthened by the success of multigenerational businesses. Look no further than Memphis, TN. With two locations in the Home of the Blues, Buster’s Liquors & Wines is now run by its third generation, represented by brothers and co-owners, Josh and Morgan Hammond.
Buster’s celebrated 70 years of business in 2024. Like many multigenerational stores in the alcohol industry, this Memphis landmark has roots in grocery.
In the 1950s, Josh and Morgan’s grandfather Romulus Morgan Hammond Jr., nicknamed “Buster,” opened a series of grocery stores with his business partner, Tom Kirk. Combining their last names, Hamkirk Groceries proved successful, and still exist today. Hamkirk was the first grocery store in the area that opened on Sundays. This then-novel business strategy caught the eye of the nearby, pioneering supermarket chain Piggy Wiggly, which first opened in Memphis in 1916.
Not all business relationships last. Despite their success, Buster and Kirk decided to dissolve their partnership in the mid 1950s. A flip of the coin decided who got to keep Hamkirk and who was bought out. Buster lost this historically significant 50/50.
One door closes, another opens. Soon after the dissolution, Buster had the chance to open a liquor store next door to a Hamkirk. Saying “yes” to this opportunity, he officially launched Buster’s Liquors on South Bellevue in downtown Memphis in the spring of 1954.
Known for his big personality (which has undoubtedly passed down through the generations), Buster hung a ship’s bell outside his store and would loudly ring it to announce each day’s first sale. This boldness jibed with downtown Memphis at the time, during the heyday of Motown, with Isaac Hayes driving by in his big Cadillac. Buster’s thrived, attracting loyal locals, as well as tourists who popped in during visits to the city from neighboring states. To this day, Buster’s remains a popular stop for out-of-state travelers.
In 1966, Buster’s son R.M. “Rommy” Hammond III opened his own store in downtown Memphis. Named Sterick Liquors for the building it occupied, this unfortunately proved a short-lived venture. The shocking assassination of Martin Luther King at a hotel just a mile south in 1968 sent the downtown area into swift decline.
Father and son soon headed to the city’s growing suburbs. Two stores opened up, including at Buster’s current location of South Highland St. near the University of Memphis.
Rommy took over the family business in 1970. His father, the namesake founder, lived until 2007, when Buster passed away at the age of 97, leaving behind a remarkable legacy of local business.
What’s it like working for a company that boasts such a rich family history and tradition? “It’s good, if you like what you are doing,” says third-generation co-owner Morgan. “I’ve been doing this for forty years, and I look forward to getting up and doing work, every day.”
Buster’s Today
The Buster’s location at South Highland St. first opened with 800 square feet. Today, this site has expanded to accommodate 16,000 square feet — an accomplishment that represents three generations of sustained growth.
“My grandfather built a two-lane road, my father turned it into an interstate and then my brother and I turned that into a 10-lane expressway,” explains Morgan’s brother and fellow third-generation co-owner Josh.
“My father was the one who was always saying that he wanted to have the largest liquor store in Tennessee, and he was able to achieve that because he always said ‘yes’ to new products,” Josh adds.
This mentality of “yes” is part of the Buster’s legacy (Buster repeatedly saying “yes” to new business opportunities) and the company’s ongoing strategy.
“It’s still very important that we bring vibrancy to the customer,” Josh says. “It’s easy to get stale in this industry if you keep too much old stuff out and never bring new stuff in.”
Like many beverage alcohol retail stores that have thrived across generations, Buster’s benefitted by riding the fine wine wave in the ‘80s and ‘90s. “We brought first-growth Bordeauxs into Memphis, Tennessee,” Josh recalls.
Wine has since slowed down nationally, but other categories have ticked up to pick up the slack. Craft beer trended before the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by the American whiskey boom and now craft cocktails, tequila and cannabis beverages.
Whatever category captures consumer attention, Buster’s stands ready to capitalize. “My father was a big believer in checking competitors’ prices and working with distributors,” Josh says. “We look at the distributors as our partners. We don’t want to nickel and dime them. We say, ‘Let’s create good deals together’.”
“That plays into what we have to do as a business,” he adds. “We give the customer what they want. We’re more invested in the long-term customer than the short-term sale.”
This perspective extends into how employees are taught to act.
“We train our employees, ‘Always be gracious’, and treat others how you want to be treated when you show up here,” Josh continues. “It helps lower the temperature every day here. It’s not like we’re saving lives every day like doctors, so let’s get to reality.”
The Hammonds point to their staff and a big reason why the business has thrived.
“Big part of our continued success is undoubtedly attributed to our incredible staff, management team and ‘top brass’ who have been with us for decades,” Josh says. “And this especially rings true when you think about all the ‘big rocks’ we’ve moved over the last decade with embracing change to include wine in grocery stores, Covid challenges, opening up two new business locations, online sales, technology aspects and human resources needs to name a few. Our folks truly get the job done.”
Buster’s East
In February of last year, Buster’s opened a new, 18,000-square-foot store on Poplar Ave, about six miles east from their current location.
“It was a site that Josh and I had looked at three years before, before the current owners had the site,” Morgan explains. “At that time there been some contingencies: Target and Best Buy [in the same shopping center] did not want to allow such a large liquor store. So we looked at other places” for potential expansion.
Eventually, the realtor used by Buster’s called back the brothers. The property had new owners, and the obstructing contingency was gone. Were Josh and Morgan interested?
“We were off to the races,” Morgan says.
Locally, the new store is known as Buster’s Liquors East, while the original shop (situated to the west) has taken on the name of Buster’s Liquors University, with the University of Memphis mere minutes away.
Built into an old Staples, the layout of the new location reflects modern trends in beverage alcohol retail.
“We don’t have tall shelves,” Josh says. “It’s nice to look out across the store and see all the folks and security. It’s all clean and orderly.”
Checkout registers are arranged like a concierge desk, in a U-shape.
“It’s much more efficient,” Josh says. “It looks much better than grocery aisles.”
This location also boasts a walk-in humidor with Spanish cedar. (Nationally, fine cigars seem to be making a comeback, likely as a pairing for consumers who increasingly prefer premium spirits like American whiskey.)
Reflecting another national trend in beverage alcohol retail, Buster’s East has a large tasting venue set up on the sales floor. In an era when consumers are as curious and eager to learn as ever, providing these educational, experiential events is critical for business. “We held an event with eight suppliers there just this past weekend,” Josh says.
Elsewhere in the building is a climate-controlled room for fine wine, which includes a granite table for tastings. “We do VIP tastings in there,” Josh says.
Continuing this experiential strategy, the new store also contains a conference room that can host even larger gatherings for tastings.
“We’ve done several tastings in there already, and sold about $35,000 worth of product at each tasting,” Josh says. “This is how we differentiate this store, with unique customer experiences. We provide consumer education in intimate environments. It’s just not the same as when you get to meet the master distiller or brewer” and taste their products with the people who have made them.
An important necessity not to overlook when routinely holding large-scale tastings, the building has a dishwasher room. All those Glens and wine gasses do not clean themselves.
Modern technology has played a big role in the new store, and at Buster’s in general.
“We have all electric shelf tags in the new store,” Josh says. “Technology has always allowed us to scale up through the years. We launched our first ecommerce site in 2012. It was clunky back then. Our new ecommerce site is dynamic. We’re always forward-thinking with this stuff.”
Buster’s Butcher
Yet another recent expansion of the Buster’s business has taken the company back to its grocery roots.
“I always had a vision of a nice meat and cheese shop next door to ours,” Josh says. “A craft butcher is something that was lost for a while, but I’m now seeing that return in some of the big cities.”
So why not in Memphis?
When the space next door to the South Highland St. location opened up, Josh sprung into action.
“It all started quickly, on a whim,” he says. “I went out and I found a butcher.”
The timing was superb, as one of the better craft butchers in Memphis was suddenly available after the closure of a different prepared food business.
“I knew, ‘This was my guy’,” Josh recalls. “He already knows all the pitfalls of running a butcher.”
Buster’s Butcher opened in August of 2023 with 2,200 square feet. In its first year of operations, the butcher shop conducted 27,000 transactions, totaling just under $2 million in sales.
“There’s definitely a need for this,” Josh observes.
Agreeing with him is the man brought in to run the shop, Head Butcher Brad McCarley.
“In the early 2010s, there was this butcher renaissance,” McCarley observes. “People wanted to know where their meat was sourced. They wanted to get better products than what you can find in your typical chain grocery business. There’s lots of specialty things that we can do that a grocery store cannot.”
Buster’s Butcher offers beer, pork, poultry, duck, prepared foods, cheeses, sandwiches and more.
“It’s all very intentional. We bring in farm-raised meats, so there’s no hormones, no antibodies,” Josh explains.
Memphis is a big barbecue town, so Buster’s Butcher also sources BBQ products from the local popular restaurants. Imported foods are also in stock, including high-end Italian, Japanese, and Spanish items.
“There’s also a chef’s component to this,” McCarley says. “We make classic steakhouse side dishes, like lasagna and pot pie. Things that are easy for people to take home and make a meal with their cut of meat.”
“We cure a lot of products in-house and make our own sausages,” he adds. “The Buster’s guys have let me do what I thought was best for this. It’s been really great.”
Magic Light Wand
If there’s something connecting the Hammonds across generations beyond big personalities, it’s an entrepreneurial spirit. From Romulus starting one successful business before another, to Rommy dreaming big and following through, to the third generation growing the company to its current size.
This also continues today with Josh’s Christmas wand.
It’s a magical moment for children when they see the family Christmas tree turn on, lights suddenly aglow. The Hammond family took this even further: Josh’s mother would hand her grandkids a toy wand and then flick the Christmas lights on when the kids waved at the tree with the wand.
In the late 2000s, this gave Josh an idea.
After researching the concept for years, including several trips to China to tour potential factories, Josh launched Magic Light Wand. Using a radio receiver, the wand turns on Christmas lights when waved at the holiday tree.
Magic Light Wand sold 100,000 units between 2013-19. This delightful toy appeared on “The View” and “The Today Show,” and was used at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Proceeds benefit St. Jude and other nonprofits, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“It was fun to put my entrepreneurialism to work on this,” Josh says.
Production halted during the Covid 19 pandemic and the subsequent global shortage of computer chips. However, today, Magic Light Wand is up and running again, bringing magic and wonder into the holidays, available at MagicLightWand.com.
The Future of Buster’s
Three generations of successful business growth is impressive enough. But will there be a fourth generation at Buster’s?
“Only three to four percent of family businesses make it to the fourth generation,” Josh points out.
The company is certainly in position to achieve this remarkable accomplishment. Romulus Morgan Hammond V, Morgan’s older son, has been with the business for two years now. Morgan’s younger son is a senior in high school who can work for the company come summertime.
What does their father think this means for the future of Buster’s?
“Hopefully a bunch of growth,” Morgan says. “I’m looking forward to continuing to train them and eventually releasing my duties onto my sons as they grow into the business, as my dad did to me and Josh, and his dad did to him.”
The future of Buster’s also relies on the future of independent retailers. Josh’s advocacy efforts in this area go back decades, serving on the board of the Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association (TWSRA) since 2000, and serving on the board of the American Beverage Licenses (ABL) based in Washington D.C. since 2018.
“Our market in Tennessee has changed more in the last ten years than the 60 year before it,” Josh explains. “And for the most part, Tennessee has gotten it right, as consumers now have more outlets and choices than ever before, with winery direct shipments and wine in grocery stores. Both of these actually hurt our business, but we’ve embraced other changes that allow us to sell other products, including beer, mixers, food products, accessories and delivery services.
“Still,” he adds, “Tennessee and our association is at work to ensure wine and spirit retailers may not only exist, but also thrive. A strong association helps make watching our interests possible.”
Kyle Swartz is editor of Beverage Dynamics. Reach him at kswartz@epgmediallc.com. Read his recent piece, Growth and Family at Chilly’s.
