A new Sav-On Liquor & Wine store in Waterloo held its grand opening last week, and the business’ local owner and his partner are eager to see the store contribute to the community.

Zac Hamilton has lived in Waterloo with his wife for nearly 17 years. He’s served as a member of the Bud Light Brigade as well as the Waterloo Municipal Band for some time.

Along with business partner Nick Patel, Hamilton owns a number of stores in the area, namely several car washes and Scooter’s Coffee chain locations.

“My business partner in Sav-On is in the liquor store business full-time,” Hamilton said. “He and I own some car washes and some Scooter’s Coffee franchises in the Fairview Heights and Swansea area.”

As both he and Patel described, Hamilton has pushed to set up a Sav-On location in Waterloo for roughly a decade, noting the community’s lack of a dedicated liquor store.

He seems to have been correct in gauging the community’s needs, as the Thursday grand opening – which featured a food truck as well as vendor tastings – was met with a respectable turnout.

“I’ve been trying to convince him to open a Sav-On in Waterloo for probably 10 years because I feel we’ve always had a need for a real liquor store in Waterloo, and we finally got it done,” Hamilton said. “Opened it up, and so far it’s been a lot of fun and a great success.”

Hamilton explained that the community has only had Schnucks and Walmart to turn to when it comes to alcohol, and those businesses simply aren’t able to carry a wide selection compared to a dedicated liquor store.

He compared this situation to a specialty appliance shop being able to offer a greater selection than a big box store.

“If you go to an appliance store, there’s gonna be 45 different microwaves,” Hamilton said. “If you go to Lowe’s or Home Depot, they’re gonna have 10. And so that’s the advantage that we have because we are in the space of being in the liquor business. We can have 50 varieties of vodka. We can have 250 varieties of bourbon, including the high end stuff.”

He further described how Sav-On will hopefully be able to cater to customers in a way that a larger store couldn’t.

Should a customer voice a request for a particular kind of drink, Hamilton said he and Patel might be able to reach out to their suppliers in order to track it down.

Community was also a major selling point for the two owners. 

Hamilton spoke about how he, as a Waterloo local, hopes to employ fellow Waterloo residents while also being active and giving back to the community in other ways.

“We’re gonna be a company that’s going to be involved in our community, and we know that we can provide a service and be fast and friendly,” Hamilton said. “And hopefully everybody can enjoy that and come see us.”

Hamilton outlined that community activity by describing some of the business’ current plans, from sponsorships to involvement in the Waterloo downtown summer concerts.

He added Sav-On has already established a sponsorship with Human Support Services for its upcoming Shine Your Light Gala.

Patel echoed much of Hamilton’s sentiment, expressing his anticipation for the future of the business as well as its place in the community.

“He’s been telling me we should open a store in Waterloo for a long time, and it finally happened,” Patel said. “We want to help the community out everywhere we can, sponsor and get in the community. Whatever we have to do our side to make our community grow and help, we’re gonna do it.”

Sav-On Liquor & Wine in Waterloo is located at 915 N. Illinois Route 3 and is open every day from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.