NORTHWOOD — Drive-thrus have made it convenient to order fast food, do our banking and pick up our prescriptions. Residents of Northwood can also get their liquor without getting out of their car.

DS Liquors has been open in Northwood for almost one year now, and it offers something that not many other liquor stores do — a drive-up window.

“There’s one in Mason City, and there’s one in Clear Lake that I saw, so I just figured, ‘Why not Northwood?’” owner Dan Sitch said. “It’s something different for the town.”

Sitch said a customer can get anything in the store by using the drive-thru and said that about 50 percent of his customers use it.

Sitch has lived in Northwood for almost three years. Before opening DS Liquors he was a truck driver. He said that not being on the road all the time was one of the factors that led him to opening the business.

“I was getting kind of tired of the grind of that,” Sitch said. “So it’s nice only having a mile commute back and forth to work; that was a big reason.”

Before moving to Northwood, Sitch lived in the Chicago suburb of Aurora, Ill. He said he moved to Northwood because he wanted to get back to the small-town vibe that Aurora once had but has since grown out of.

“I’ve got some family and friends out here,” Sitch said. “I just wanted to get away from the big hustle and bustle of the city. Where I’m from used to be small and rural, but now it’s exploded, and that’s not my cup of tea.

“I’m back to the peaceful life,” he added.

Sitch is the only full-time employee at DS, though he gets some help from his father-in-law. He said he was very busy throughout the holiday season when he opened up last year and expects to be busy again this year.

“I’ve seen a steady increase as we’ve been going forward,” Sitch said.

 

DS Liquors

Address: 87 N Eighth St., Northwood

Phone: 641-324-9951

Hours: 

Sunday through Thursday: 9 a.m.-10 p.m.

Friday and Saturday: 9 a.m.-midnight