R30,000 booze sold by Joburg bottle store to one customer

Online orders for one Johannesburg-based liquor store have been booming since the lifting of the ban on alcohol during the nationwide lockdown.

On Monday, licensed liquor venues reopened to sell alcohol, two months after the ban was put in place at the end of March.

Liquor stores are allowed to operate only from Monday to Thursday between 9am and 5pm. E-commerce deliveries (but not orders) are subject to the same days and times.

Since the lifting of the ban, thirsty South Africans have wasted no time in placing their booze orders online for delivery.

Dry Dock Liquor online store manager Taryn Pienaar told TimesLIVE orders have been steadily increasing, even before Monday's official move to level 3.

Pienaar said since being back in business, the store's biggest order was for R30,000.

“We received a private order of R30,000 for spirits and wine, in particular. That's the highest we've received during the lockdown. The lowest was for one bottle of wine for R65,” said Pienaar.

She said they had received more than 600 online orders at an average of R2,000 per order.

“During the lockdown, we received about 650 online orders. From WhatsApp and e-mails, we received more than 1,000 orders,” said Pienaar.

Dry Dock Liquor has also launched a drive-through service to quench the thirst of its customers.