Tick Tock Liquors

This place has been closed for (at least) the last two months. since i’ve moved into this area. All I hear are great things about its reputation, and maybe they’re true when its open, but when that will be… who knows?

Looking for some obscure wine or alcohol that you so happened to try while half way across the country? Then I’d recommend that you start your search at Tick Tock liquors.
The assortment here is downright huge. They carry a variety of wines, champagnes, hard liquors, and beers. I have a favorite wine that I usually stock up on whenever I’m home in California because I could never find it anywhere here; but guess who carries it? Tick Tock Liquors! No more ridiculously heavy luggage and knowing that TSA is going through your luggage because of all the alcohol it contains.
The prices are average but the huge selection means that it can accommodate just about any price range.
The only downside: it’s located in Maryland, so while they’re open on Sundays, they do not sale hard liquor that day.
Overall, I’ll continue to go out of my way to get to Tick Tock Liquors because I know they’ll always have what I’m looking for!

Tick Tock is run by the same people who own the Golden Bull, a terrible restaurant just up Riggs Rd. They are extremely rude to customers, will openly suggest that you should be glad that they let you in their not so classy establishment, and you should never expect that you the customer are «always right» if ever.
They know little about their products, and won’t search for something for you. Go somewhere else. Frankly, go to Montgomery County DLC stores for a better sales. You should not give your money to people who don’t give a damn about you. Same with the Golden Bull.

If you need to pick up a liquor for a baking project that needs 6 hours to chill and it is 7am on Saturday… This is the place to go. They have a great selection and are open early! Would recommend going during daylight hours.

Before I start I recommend you look at MiC g’s comment since I pretty much agree with it. Many people have over dramatized this place on Unilocal but there is a great deal of truth in what has been said. Anyway… Tick Tock the legendary place that everyone from Langley Park knows all about. If you meet someone who claims to be from the area and doesn’t know Tick Tock is absolutly full of shit I used to go in as a teenager knowing I would never be carded. I heard the old owner did some time for tax evasion but I’m not sure of that. Word has it he was paying off the county under the table to keep his prices low. I laughed my ass off when I was carded for the first time in my life about a year ago at 23. I couldn’t believe it but I think they ran out of leverage in regards to keeping the feds away. I don’t care anymore as I’m in my 20s.
If you go during day time the worst you will find are beggers but as it gets darker I tend to tuck a blade and/​or bring friends. I’m no thug by any means and I’ve always been good at navigating danger but at dark this is not a place to drop your guard. Common sence will do you well. In years past bad shit would happen in the surrounding area like the Gardens (university gardens the apartment community directly behind tick tock.) But over all university blvd has calmed down in the recent years. Not sure I would recommend a female friend to walk alone down this stretch at night but in general its not a place where you fear for your safety especially recently. As a decent sized and strong man I don’t ever feel threatened but again I go during the day to eliminate problems. Not to say I haven’t stumbled into this Damn place shitfaced late at night but those stories are for another time…
I had a lot of fun yesterday when I went in to get beer with my RG3 jersey and redskins hat. Everyone was fired up and we even got an RG3 chant going on in the parking lot. Even a woman with a baby in her arms and a case of beer in the stroller was on it. After that we beat the cowboys to win the division. Hail to the Redskins!

In comparison to the other liquor store on my way home from school their stock is fresh and have a better selection. Its a lot less sketchier too so I’ll stick to this one. And its not a montgomery county liquor store so you don’t have that big brother vibe.

If you need a late night libation and have a well-​strapped posse with you then by all means, grab your keg here and go. It caters to a very … how shall I say … certain demographic. The proximity to the University is not by accident. The parking lot populated with beggars and bangers is not the best advertisement, but for the desperate, lazy and thrill-​seeking this is their nirvana.
I first discovered this place about 25 years ago, and while much has changed, much has always remained the same. Mention «Tick Tock» to any native and they not only know what you’re speaking of, but how to get there and why you shouldn’t go. But 90% of the time they also have found themselves resorting to this … unique slice of suburban flavor.
Recently, I went to buy some liquor. On a Sunday. Where I live now, we don’t have repressive, regressive and religiously motivated «blue laws» so I wasn’t even thinking that the neighborhood I used to live in had gone the way of the conservative church crowd.
I picked up a bottle off the shelf and heard the guy behind the counter say something. I didn’t even know he was talking to me, let alone understand what he was saying, so it was a bit of a surprise when, after placing my bottle on the counter he informed me –in a harsh, thickly accented voice «I told you we don’t sell liquor on Sunday.»
Well, I SPEAK ENGLISH. MAYBE HE SHOULD TRY IT SOMETIME IF HE WANTS TO BE UNDERSTOOD.
Now, I know, they have a lot of the regions flotsam and debris to deal with, but even when I lived in Brooklyn the salesperson’s were as polite as a Brooklyner could be in the same situation. This guy was just an ASS.
So, if you’re desperate, cheap, drunk, or ignorant I’m sure you will find yourself here at sometime or another. But if you are making a habit of it … you’ve got a problem.
Will I ever go again? Why would I? There aren’t many places I would say this of, but I’m better than that.

So if its late and all of the other liquors stores are closed, this is where you wanna go.

My co-​workers were talking about where to get cheap liquor at work, and I happen to walk into the office. I held up a hand.
«Please. You know the only place to get booze late night is at Tick Tock!»
There was a brief pause, and then one of my co-​workers said, «Sarah, how you know about Tick Tock?!» (I am a 5′ 1″ Asian girl).
«Oh yeah, I grew up in Langley. That’s my hood!» [insert silly hand gestures here].
And that, my friends, will be the closest I would ever get to having street cred. I have been in this liquor store at midnight several times, but usually accompanied by a friend who can stomp some ass if the occasion presented itself. I may have spent my early childhood years in this area, but I ain’t stupid.

don’t kid yourself. you can’t get rid of this place. this place will out live you and your children. an atomic bomb will go off and everything within a 200 mile radius will be reduced to rubble, cinder, and ash, but this place will still be standing and it will find a drunk to patronize its’ innards. no matter how many gang fights break out in the parking lot or people get stabbed in the back, this place will be here. sure, the man might even be able to knock down its’ late night selling hours from 2 am to 12 am, but this place ain’t going anywhere. it laughs at you when you come in cause it knows no matter how sketchy you may fill while wandering around the isles — you’ll be back. yes, you will be back for more.
no matter how many times you see a pregnant woman standing in line with a pint of mad dog and a pack of camel light cigs… you will be back. you’ve been here before. many times. the first time was probably in college when the keg went dry at 1 am and you and a couple of buddies piled into a car, hit the gas, skidded into the parking lot, and bust in through the doors at 1:50 am to buy a couple of cases of whatever low grade beer that was on sale. yeah, you’ve been here and you’ll be back. only this time you might be picking up a belgian ale or a bottle of jameson or even a bottle of merlot.
you know there’s going to be a time when it’s 6 am and hell be damned if you don’t need a drink… and there it is. waiting for you like the dog in the window when you just got home from summer vacation. it licks you when you pass through the doors.
they should just blow this place up like a giant mushroom cloud, you think to yourself, but you know better. this place was here before you were born and it will be here after you are dead. this is the church of the desperate, desolate, and drunk. this place ain’t going anywhere. it will outlive the roaches.

Soon after I turned 21 I paid a legitimate visit to Tick Tock with a friend. As I approached the counter, the clerk asked for my ID. Not believing it was genuine, he asked one of the cops stationed at the door to come check it out. He also asked my friend his age. He was 20, so the clerk told him to get out. The cop then said to the clerk «Why’d you tell him to go outside, its dangerous out there», Not recognizing a NY ID, the cop went to get the drivers license book in the back. When he returned he said «Its your lucky day, someone stole the book». So I finally finished the transaction and left with the booze. This place has a great selection, but its located in a shady area. If you’re in College Park, there are better options (especially the Village Pump).

When your professor proudly announces you can find cheap forties and tons of great liquor, you listen.
Tick Tock is an awesome Langley Park liquor store, family-​owned by some Indian immigrants.
Seriously, from Bud Light for beer pong to Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, you can find pretty much anything you want for a reasonable price. ‘Nuff said.
Go drink. Make love. Unilocal