Throw a party and run out of booze? Soon, there’ll be an app for that, too, in Tucson.
Philadelphia-based GoPuff, which has been offering on-demand delivery of convenience-store items in Tucson since early November, has applied for a state liquor license in order to start on-demand delivery of beer, wine and spirits.
GoBooze — which already delivers alcoholic beverages in nine markets — plans to launch the service in Tucson soon after it gets its state liquor license, which is expected within a couple of months, said Rafael Ilishayev, co-founder and co-CEO of GoPuff.
GoBooze is just one of a growing number of app-based, on-demand booze delivery companies, and would be the first to serve Tucson. GoPuff serves 15 markets including Phoenix and Tucson.
The company advertises delivery in 30 minutes or less and charges a flat $1.95 delivery fee, with free delivery on orders of $49 or more.
Others seeking to become the Uber of liquor include Minibar, Drizly, Saucey, Klink and Thirstie, which work with local liquor stores to arrange delivery of orders taken online.
Some warehouse liquor chains partner with app-based delivery services, such as BevMo with Google Express and Saucey, and Total Wine & More with Instacart and Klink.
Online behemoth Amazon also offers one- or two-hour delivery of booze in some markets through its Amazon Prime Now service.
But goBooze has a different business model. Rather than essentially operating as a sales agent for liquor retailers who provide delivery, goBooze buys inventory and warehouses it locally for delivery.
That gives GoPuff more control to meet its delivery-time goal of 30 minutes or less, Ilishayev said, adding that GoPuff delivery times in Tucson average about 18 minutes.
“For us, for on-demand delivery it doesn’t really make sense in my eyes to have a business that goes through another business to pick up goods,” he said.
Ilishayev said the company also plans to offer alcohol delivery in the Phoenix area — which is served by a GoPuff warehouse operation in Tempe — but it’s starting out in Tucson because it allows the company to test the waters in a smaller market.
“When we launch alcohol, there’s a huge increase in orders,” he said.
Ilishayev and his partner, Yakir Gola, started GoPuff as Drexel University students in 2013 as an “Instacart for hedonists,” initially selling smoking supplies including hookahs, rolling papers and e-cigarettes. The company raised more than $8 million in private-equity investment capital last year.
Under Arizona law, retail delivery of liquor is allowed with a bar, beer and wine bar, liquor store or beer-and-wine store liquor license. Some liquor stores have long offered delivery under the law.
Alcohol-delivery services must check to make sure customers are 21 or older both when they order and when orders are delivered, noting what documents were used to verify age, and they can’t deliver to customers who are intoxicated, said Lee Hill, assistant director of the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control.
The delivery companies must keep records of each delivery for two years, Hill said, and that information is used to investigate cases of serving underage customers.
Ilishayev said his company’s delivery drivers use tablet computers to scan and record customer IDs. If a customer doesn’t have a valid ID on delivery, the company cancels delivery with a 50 percent restocking fee, he added.
GoPuff currently employs six full-time employees at its warehouse near South Kino Parkway and East Aviation Parkway and the company has “dozens” of delivery drivers here, Ilishayev said, adding he expects to add workers to handle alcohol sales.
