Kenton Liquor Store

Lowering to one star, asked if I could see a bottle which was across the room, the clerk picked it up and held it up from 15 feet away. Are you kidding me, you don’t trust me when I want to read a label? God I hate this liquor store. At least at St. Johns, where the bottles are also behind the counter, they are only a few feet away and you can see the labels and price. This place is ridiculous. Wish it wasn’t my neighborhood liquor store or I’d never return!

Somewhat careless staff (check that they got the right bottle), and mediocre selection. Worth the drive to St Johns to a better store.

Fantastic Service. Always happy to help. They suggest items for guests and treat everyone very well. Having the bottles back has never been an issue I imagine it is a security issue. Keep up the good work Kenton Liquor!

The product is so far away from the counter that you can’t see any of it. If you ask for a price on something, they treat you like a moron. Worst service anywhere. I will gladly drive farther to avoid this miserable, rude experience again.

I have been going to this liquor store for years and have never had a bad experience. The bottles are far away, but any time I would like to see something closer, they happily grab it from the shelf for me to examine.
Many times I am unsure of what brand of liquor to purchase. The staff here has always been extremely helpful with recommendations. They will even ask me questions about what kinds of drinks I plan on making to further assist with what they recommend to me.
When purchasing vodka I let them know what brands I typically purchase and then I ask if something similar happens to be on sale.
They offer a great selection of mixers here. The last margarita mix I purchased was fantastic! (I don’t recall the name). It wasn’t super sweet and full of syrup like many of the ones I have tried in the past.
Do I sometimes wish the bottles were not behind the counter? Sure, but using the staff to help me with my purchases probably ends up saving me a ton of time because I tend to be very indecisive.
Thanks for being awesome Kenton Liquor Store!

Talk about the worst liquor store in all of Portland. Impatient & Extremely Rude. The Agent of the store, Doug, is a real piece of work. The staff isn’t knowledgable on their products & they just seem to want you out of the store. Maybe we should all help them out by not going so that they can close up shop & live happier lives. Because as of now, everyone working in that store is completely miserable. The only reason they are getting 1 star from me, is because Unilocal won’t let me post without it.

When I have a choice, my business goes to places where they’re nice to customers. That connection is more important to me than fewer choices, slightly higher prices, and stuff like that.
That said, I used to really like this place. I don’t buy liquor very often and I’m not incredibly knowledgeable about it. But getting ready for a big celebration this weekend, I headed over to pick out some things.
I had questions and needed time to consider choices. Now, in no way was I holding up the line. I made sure that I was out of the way of customers while considering the options. Even when there was no other customer in the place, and there were three clerks in clear view, apparently, they wanted me to do my «shopping» elsewhere and step up knowing what I want.
I don’t think I’ll take my business there anymore. It didn’t feel good to be treated like that. I guess all the others would have pretty much the same stock, right?

Great little liquor store, friendly staff, close to home, people who work there live in the neighborhood, clean.
In stock Jefferson Whiskey, Don Julio Tequila, and other snobby liquors I love.

I come from a land where we can touch the bottles, and of course anyone would prefer it that way. After all, my eyes aren’t so young anymore and they were never that good to begin with. It’s not really that big a deal, but they do seem further away than normal in this shop. Also — if you are the one barrier to me getting my beloved booze, and I, a valued customer, shouldn’t this be a pleasant win-​win sort of situation? They are not very friendly here, esp the woman who waited on me today. And I have never been overly impressed with any of the folks behind the counter there. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that they sell little chocolate liquor bottles at said counter :).

I am sort of astonished at how many people complain about not being able to touch the bottles, because I don’t think I have ever been to a liquor store in East Portland where that’s possible. (Places I haven’t been able to touch bottles include: the one by the lloyd center, the one that use to be on mlk, the one that use to be in the bowling alley building on morrison, and the one that use to be on interstate near skidmore.)
So suck it up people, who can’t touch bottles, unless you can name an overwhelming amount of stores you CAN touch bottles on the east side.
Also, when you go to the liquor store – don’t you know exactly what you want? It’s not like this liquor store has a specialty liquor selection. If that’s what you want, go to the pearl district to get your yuppie on.
And lastly, prices are regulated by the state, except if there’s a sale and then there is extra signage, that I can read; But maybe it’s because I wear glasses allowing me close to ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision.
Okay, now here is the real review:
1. I love the people that work here. They are nice, greet you, make small talk, remember you, and live in the neighborhood.
2. There is a lady that writes thank you in bubble font cursive on the brown paper bags.
3. They have a good mixer selection if you don’t want to go to freddies.
4. It’s right next to a head shop and pizza parlor– that’s what I call one stop shopping!
5. They have excellent burnished copper lettering signage.

They are in my neighborhood. They sell alcohol. I like to drink. They remember me with each visit. It is sorta cute after a remodel 3 years ago.
I wish the booze wasn’t behind the counter… I like to feel the bottles to get a vibe for which one is right for me… but that is par for the course in Portland.
Nice staff.
Frequent tastings.

Meh. One of those «we don’t trust you to browse the shelves by yourself» kinda places. All the overpriced liquor is far back behind the main counter which makes it difficult to see and obviously a pain in the ass to browse.

I know, I know. I’m rolling my eyes too. Not another liquor store review. What is with this woman?
It was the 2-​ft burnished copper letters spelling out LIQUOR on the storefront. Can’t resist burnished copper — two full feet of it! (Note to player players: you wanna play me, get yourself a copy of Domino magazine, closest thing to a user’s manual you’ll find.)
Kenton Liquor occupies a small space with a small selection, but has the ever-​desirable browsable shelves. It’s a clean space with friendly staff, and can be reached by the #6 bus and yellow line MAX.
Pick up a traveller of peach schnapps, park yourself under the nearby 3-​story Paul Bunyan monument, and consider how a clear-​cutting giant became an American hero. Try not to fall asleep on one of the odd blue stumps, reputed to be all that’s left of Babe.