Ok ok so it's not a proper zoo or sanctuary, but everything is closed due to the pandemic so this is all I have for ya, a liquor store. Because zoos aren't essential, but booze sure is.

A pretty large, happy looking puffer

But this isn't your normal wine & spirits - this store has quite the animal collection! All-Star Wine & Spirits is home to a couple of bearded dragons, about half a dozen salt water tanks and a few freshwater in a variety of shapes and sizes, and a neat koi pond with a waterfall. Since it isn't a zoo, the review will be a little more forgiving. After all, it's making it's money on the alcohol primarily and not on the presentation of the animals; the animals are like getting a foot in the door.

The largest tank at All-Star houses a fairly large Lionfish

One thing I really loved about this store was that they not only wrote what animals were in each tank, something that most zoos don't even do, they even added pictures and, when appropriate, the sex as well. This is such a nice little touch, because a lot of the time I can't recognize what animal is in an exhibit or sometimes I might even pass over animals that are hiding. I had no problem identifying what was in each tank with that helpful info. Speaking of, their variety was actually very good from a collector's standpoint, especially considering it isn't meant to be a zoo or have a spotlight on the animals.

This was beyond helpful when writing this review, and these were on every fish tank

The tanks themselves ranged from being bare to being too small or overcrowded. The main tank with the large Lion-fish had too much vertical space and not enough horizontal space for me to claim it an adequate size for that big fella. A similar issue with the stingray enclosure having too much decoration and not enough low-lying horizontal space. The decor also left a lot to yearn for - some tanks had nearly bare bottoms, there was a lot of fake rock, and the fake plants looked very obviously fake. It put a real hamper on the displays - a little bit more effort put in the displays could have made the tanks look so much more beautiful. The lack of effort in some of the tanks was a constant reminder that this place was indeed a liquor store, not an aquarium.

The Stingray seemed a little cramped and unhappy

There were, however, a lot of interesting tank shapes and designs. The few that really stood out was a very tall cylinder tank with a tap at the bottom, and a tank that had a curved bottom that you could walk under. They also had a very neat Koi pond in the building with a bridge going over it - the one corner was built up with 'fallen' bricks to make it look like part of the building had given way to form a waterfall and formed a pool. It also had one of the best bearded dragon enclosures I had ever seen, with plenty of basking and cooling spots, a good amount of horizontal and a ton of vertical space (albeit I'd be too worried of a beardie falling down from such a high place). I couldn't find any wrongdoings as far as pairings and husbandry goes besides some tanks feeling like they were improperly sized for the inhabitants, but not so much where it was grossly apparent.

Koi Pond at All-Star Wine and Spirits

Largest Private Beardie cage I've seen so far

All in all it was an impressive collection for a business that didn't focus on animals. I had some grievances with it but for a personal collection it's quite informative, varied and well cared for, even if it's not all as decorative as it could have been.

Do you think I can touch it?

A shy redfin piranha hiding behind some plastic decor

A smaller, but just as happy puffer

A beardie poking out from a hide

I honestly didn't think they would utilize so much vertical space but there he is

Zoo Review: All-Star Wine & Spirits