Page 22 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2017

COASTNOTES
L&M Package Store
celebrates
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster photos by Teddy Lewis
OWNERS, Michael and Pauline Mensi.
This year, L&M Package Store
in Gulfport celebrates its 50th anniversary, a true testament to the store’s success.
L&M opened in 1967, the year after the state of Mississippi legalized the sale of liquor. The store is named after its original owners, husband and wife Lawrence and Marjorie Mensi. L&M still remains in the family today and is operated by Lawrence and Marjorie’s son, Michael Mensi, and his wife, Pauline.
“Before liquor sales were legalized, my dad owned the property on Pass Road and rented it out over the years,” said Michael Mensi. “After the laws were changed, he thought it would be a good location for a liquor store.”
As liquor stores were a new frontier for the area, things started out small and simple. “Back then, you weren’t allowed to use the words ‘wine,’ ‘liquor’ or ‘spirits’ on your signage, only package store,” Mensi said. “That’s why many people chose to use their initials in the names of their stores.”
Since Michael Mensi took over the store in 1984, L&M has grown twice, each time expanding into rental space that was still available
in the building. The store now takes up the entire property and uses every square inch to provide its customers with unusual options.
“The state allows us to special order wine and other products that might not normally be available in the usual warehouses,” Mensi said. “Because of that, we’ve had the opportunity to go to a lot of wine tastings and other events to seek out new products.”
One such trip took the Mensis
to Martin’s Wine Cellar in New Orleans, where Michael and Pauline had the opportunity to meet the store’s owner, David Martin. “I told him who I was and why I was there, and he spent the next two hours showing us around his store and warehouses,” Mensi said. “I was so thankful to him, but he told me that he tried his best
to always be kind, that you never know whose help you may need one day. That’s something that has always stuck with me and that I’ve taken up as my own philosophy.”
In honor of their 50th Anniversary, L&M has selected a single barrel of bourbon, which will be engraved with their name and the occasion. Bottles from the barrel will also be sold in the store.
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L&M Package Store
423 Pass Rd., Gulfport 228.863.1848