This article was published in High Country Press.

Peabody’s Wine & Beer Merchants has double the reason to celebrate this Friday, March 18—not only will the store honor 25 years of beer, but 1986 was also the year the famous beer and wine shop made its home in Boone.

Beginning at 10:00 a.m., Peabody’s will offer 10 percent off every beer in the store, and at noon, many beers will be available to sample.

The store will also offer a $100 cash prize to whoever brings by the most unique “Beer in Boone” propaganda from 1986—and don’t worry, the guys at Peabody’s won’t keep it, they only want to photograph it. Peabody’s has been around since 1978, when it first opened in Blowing Rock across from what is now the Hayes Performing Arts Center. Stores on Beech Mountain and beside First Tracks in Boone were opened, and then closed, before Peabody’s settled in its current location on N.C. 105.

Boone has been good to Peabody’s, and as the years have passed, the shop has become known for its large selection of beer and wine, as well as for the employees.

“If you go anywhere else within hundreds of miles in any direction, everybody knows Peabody’s,” said Gregg Parsons, co-owner of the store. “They know us for having the deepest, most eclectic selection of craft brews and the most knowledgeable staff about those brews.”

The staff has also become a large part of the community, and by doing so, they have had the chance to watch the public become more and more educated about beer and wine.

“The beer palate has gone from regular Budweiser and such all the way up to craft beers,” said Chris Riley, beer manager. “There’s no way we could stay open…without the clientele that’s up here. They really have gone from spending $5 or $6, $8 or $10 for a 12-pack or a case of beer to spending $5 or $6, $8 or $10 on one beer, simply because it’s so well crafted and so big for them.”

Kevin Burnette, general manager, agreed, and said wine is also a part of that picture.

“I think for a lot of folks who have been coming here, their palates have been enriched by lesser-known beer and wine brands,” he said. “They have come to appreciate the harder-working aspects of the beverage industry.”

Peabody’s hosts free beer and wine tastings every week for community members to attend.

For more information about the tastings or Friday’s celebration, call the store at 828-262-9476 or click to www.peabodyswineandbeer.com.