San Angelo Pinkie's Liquor Store 70th Anniversary: '4,000 Customers a Week' Can't Be Wrong

It all began 70 years ago with a man and his dream of creating a liquor empire.

Tom "Pinkie" Roden was a convicted Fort Worth bootlegger — at least until he was pardoned by former Texas Governor "Ma" Ferguson. Roden established the first Pinkie's Liquor Store in Odessa in 1934, a little less than 14 years after prohibition ended with the ratification of the 21st Amendment. That particular Pinkie’s evolved into a chain of 17 wine and spirits retail stores in Abilene, Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland and Odessa.

Meanwhile, in a shrewd business move completely independent of and unrelated to that particular chain, Roden teamed up with Sam Ellington in 1944 to create the first San Angelo Pinkie’s. 

Seven decades later, that San Angelo business  is still going strong, with two stores at 1415 S. Bryant and Pinkie’s at 4239 Sherwood Way. 

Today and Saturday, the Ellington family will celebrate Pinkie Liquor's 70th anniversary  at both stores — open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. — with free tastings and samples, live music, and balloons.

The very first San Angelo Pinkie's was located at the old Big Spring highway, “on a county precinct line that marked the boundary of the only wet area in Tom Green County," the store's website shows.

In 1952, US Highway 87 was forced to relocate with the completion of the O.C. Fisher Dam. The Pinkie's store also had to move. 

In a similarly shrewd business move, Sam Ellington purchased the ownership interest in the San Angelo stores from Roden, effectively creating Samco, Inc.  

The Ellingtons still own and operate the San Angelo stores to this day. And the business is still going strong.

San Angelo Pinkie's President Mike Ellington said that one year ago, the store undertook a bold step: the drastic expansion of the Bryant store.

"We've covered this entire block now— we can't build another inch on it," he said. "It was crowded and hard to shop and this just opened things up. I'd been wanting to do this for awhile so we hired an architect and away he went."

The Bryant store is now a whopping 16,000 square feet and brings in as many as 4,000 customers a week from throughout west Texas, Ellington said. 

Today’s Pinkie’s resembles a mall area more than a standard package store, offering as many as 60 single malt scotches, 225 different tequilas and 300 vodkas. Not to mention a slew of other scotches, bourbons, Canadian whiskies, rums, gins, brandies, cognacs and liqueurs, Joe Duncan, general manager, states on the website.

The expansion has allowed the chain to sell food on premise in "The Market @ Pinkie's" at the Bryant store.

Ellington said one advantage of his working at Pinkie's since 1962 is the ability to observe the culture evolve in terms of alcohol sales.

"There has been a huge change in what the customers like," he said. "Fifty years ago, most of the churches in town preached that you would go straight to hell if you dank a beer. Today, many of the local preachers are customers."

Like the legendary oak tree in the middle of many Texas downtowns, Pinkie’s has been an institution around which much of the cultural and civic live of San Angelo has revolved for seven decades. It has provided support and product for many non-profit organizations, including West Texas Rehabilitation Center, the Angelo Civic Theatre, Meals for the Elderly, Junior League, and Habitat for Humanity. The store is credited with being key in the creation of the Texas Wine & Food Festival, the major fundraising event of the San Angelo Cultural Affairs Council.

Gus Clemens of Clemens & Associates, a wine columnist and ally of the San Angelo Pinkie's, said the store has a fascinating history.

"It began with the legend of Pinkie so long ago and inspired a business that has lasted 70 years," Clemens said. "It's a piece of history. And I admire the people at Pinkie's because of their commitment — both to the city and to being an excellent liquor store."

Ellington said the general public is invited to attend the anniversary festivities.

"We're going to have four or five tasting tables going all the time," he explained. "We will be giving 25 $20 gift certificates to every 35th customer — every 35th ring, someone will get one," he said. "That's at the Bryant store. At the Sherwood  store it will be every 25th customer.  And we will give away 25 more of them at both stores on Saturday."

For more information, visit the pinkies website: http://www.pinkies.com