Have a Beer With…Randy Kuczor, Whole Foods P Street’s Beer Buyer

The Whole Foods on P Street was absolutely bustling when I stopped in on a Sunday morning to sit down and chat with Randy Kuczor, the mastermind behind one of the best beer selections in the District. Soon after Randy and I were introduced, it became extremely clear just why this is many DC beer lovers’ favorite place to shop for beer. Randy is passionate, knowledgeable, and has a very unique vision for the beer department at this Whole Foods, which as he says, is a “very small department that is run like a small beer store.”

When Randy became the beer buyer in 2005, Stella Artois was considered an exotic pick, and the most popular craft beers were coming out of Belgium. Now, the department stocks 700-750 beers at a time, about 700 of which are American beers. Randy’s efforts to keep a solid mix of local breweries, a smattering of international offerings, and representation from the 50 states on the shelves are evident. Randy does a lot to keep the beer department ever-changing and alw