LITTLE VILLAGE — Moreno's Liquors will celebrate 40 years in Little Village this weekend with craft beer, food trucks and an all-day block party.
The family-run shop at 3724 W. 26th St. is believed to house the largest tequila collection in the Midwest — with more than 700 varieties lining its shelves.
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Since founding the Little Village anchor in 1977, owner Michael Moreno Sr., and wife Rose have expanded their operation to include nearly 600 types of craft beer and a number of Mexican treats.
The spirits will be on display this weekend at a "Craft Night Out" from 4-8 p.m. Friday and a free block party from noon-8 p.m. Saturday. Guests can expect beer tastings, door prizes, live music and food trucks from the Bruges Brothers, The Fat Shallot and Los Comales.
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In a 2015 interview, Moreno said the key to his success was starting early.
His father moved to Little Village in the 1940s, when the neighborhood was still dominated by Czech and Ukrainian immigrants. When Moreno set up shop in 1977, Moreno's Liquors was still one of only a few outposts in the area for Mexican products.
"We really stayed ahead of the market, bringing in a lot of Mexican brands that most other places just didn't have," Moreno said. "The more Mexicans moved to the neighborhood, the more people we drew, and the more we expanded."
Moreno ordered "entire trailers full" of beers like Corona and Tecate at a time when they were still considered exotic Mexican curiosities, decades before they were the supermarket staples they are today. He kept the same forward-looking strategy when it came to Mexican brandies, whiskies and of course, tequilas.
Nowadays, though he's branched out, Moreno's Liquors still fills a uniquely Mexican niche. Shelves are packed with chicharrones (fried pig skins) and colorful Mexican candies.
And under the supervision of Moreno's son, Michael Moreno Jr., the store has begun cultivating a craft beer section serious enough to rival any Wicker Park brewpub.
"I don't know anyone else on the South Side doing what we're doing when it comes to craft beer," Moreno Jr., said in 2015. "And it seems like people are really starting to notice. Everything on these shelves is hand-selected, too. There's nothing in here I don't personally like to drink."