Your Happy Place Liquors Seeks Community Support to Grow Business

How many liquor boutique-art galleries have you heard of? Your Happy Place Liquors (2501 N. Milwaukee Ave.) is a unique event space with plenty of liquor options to fulfill diverse palettes. These options range from craft beer to craft spirits, wine and cigars. Inside you can find rotating local art on its walls that fit the art portion of the business, adding to the bright and colorful vibes of the boutique.  

David and Julia Cruz, the husband and wife team behind the liquor boutique, are asking for community support to raise funds to obtain a liquor license so they can grow their business. They started a GoFundMe last month with a goal of raising $20,000. They have raised $400 so far.

According to Julia Cruz, the GoFundMe platform allows them to receive all of their donations regardless of whether they were able to meet their goal or not. Other crowdsourcing platforms do not allow them to receive the funds unless the goal was reached.

“This will allow us to receive and apply any contributions received towards the cause from our community of supporters,” Julia Cruz said.  

The sales from retail liquor have low margins so it is difficult to expand community events while keeping the business’ unique character, said David Cruz.

“Earning revenue from alcohol sales will allow us to better serve our charity events. [It will also] provide us with a stronger margin to help ensure that we continue to grow and survive,” David Cruz said.

The husband and wife have co-owned the space together for about two years and are long-time Logan Square residents. They said they feel that their business adds even more positivity to the community.

In addition to having a wide selection of guilty pleasures, they also host monthly wine and yoga events, art receptions and charity fundraisers. Their monthly wine and yoga event consists of engaging in healthy, rejuvenating yoga with aromatic and crispy wines curated for the occasion.

They will be having their next Wine and Yoga event this Saturday, Feb. 9th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., so get ready to treat yourself to some delightful wine after doing those hard, rejuvenating yoga stretches.

The reaction from the community has been welcoming and inclusive.

“We’re slowly being discovered and we’re [gradually] seeing more regular customers come through. We feel blessed with any support that we receive,” said David Cruz. 

“We’d love for our community to know how important their support is to us. Every donation, every repost, store visit, purchase and word of mouth [referral] means a lot,” Julia Cruz said. “Everybody likes the thought of supporting small [businesses]—those that actually do are helping dreams come true and [impacting] much more than the family who owns the business. They are strengthening [the overall] community and allowing the small business to continue passing their blessings forward.”

If you are interested in learning more about their fundraiser, check out the GoFundMe page here. Also, check out the business’ Facebook page for its upcoming events and stop by to see rotating art. Their next monthly Art Reception will be Feb. 16.

Featured photo: The inside of Your Happy Place Liquors, courtesy of the business.