Company lore has it that Carroll B. “Spec” Jackson opened a store in Houston in 1962 for two reasons.

One, he wanted to work for himself, and second, he didn’t want his wife, Carolynn, to have to work. Investing $7,000, he opened the first Spec’s, a wine, liquor and beer store. He opened on April Fool’s Day, which fit Spec’s personality perfectly. Spec’s son-in-law, John Rydman, now owns the company with his wife, Lindy Rydman, and serves as president. 

The founder of Spec’s, Carroll “Spec” Jackson, was widely known for being quite a character and for rolling around his larger stores for the sake of efficiency.“He was a character,” Rydman said of his father-in-law.

Rydman said Spec wanted a logo no one could hate. Spec spotted a rabbit carrying an umbrella on the cover of a monthly wholesaler magazine and asked, “Who could hate a rabbit?” 

A rabbit logo began taking shape. Spec didn’t want a typical rabbit. The company’s founder earned his nickname because of the characteristic spectacles he wore, so it only made sense that the rabbit would don similar specs. It held a flagpole with its flag imprinted with “Specs.” The flagpole was unusual, looping into a classic umbrella hook.

The business grew and so did the number of locations and sizes of the stores. The March 1973 issue of Southern Beverage Journal featured “Spec Jackson: Dealer on Wheels.” The magazine store featured a picture of Spec in roller skates, hauling a box of liquor on his shoulder.

“I wasn’t too serious when I started this skate stuff, but my new store that I opened last fall is 15,000 square feet, and I discovered the skates enabled me to cover in two or three seconds what formerly took 30 seconds or more to walk,” Spec said in the article.

Spec’s specializes in offering a vast assortment of wines, including labels from family-owned wineries.

Keepers Of The Legacy

Rydman met his wife Lindy, Spec’s daughter, at the University of North Texas.

They were music majors. The job market didn’t match their aspirations so their short-term jobs at Spec’s morphed into a decision to join the business in 1971. Spec and his wife passed away in 1996, and the Rydmans assumed the roles of owners and keepers of Spec’s legacy. 

Spec’s is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2022. A recent highlight has been moving into the Rio Grande Valley market in adding to its nearly 200 stores across Texas. There were many requests over the years to enter the Valley market. Rydman said Spec’s resisted doing so out of respect to a decades-long friendship with the Feldman family, which owned liquor and wine stores across the Valley for many years. 

A way into the Valley came when Rydman’s friend, Steve Jabour, acquired the Feldman’s stores. It would ultimately provide an outlet for Spec’s to come into the Valley and acquire the former Feldman’s stores from Jabour, who now serves as Spec’s wholesale division director.

Inside of Spec’s on North 10th in McAllen, a humidity-controlled Humidor displays a wide range of cigars.Spec’s is now occupying two former Luby’s locations in the Valley. One is in Harlingen and the other in Brownsville. A large new Spec’s opened recently on 10th Street in McAllen, just north of Trenton Road. There’s also a Spec’s on 2700 Expressway 83 in McAllen. A few stores still bear the Feldman’s name as they await renovation and a name change.

Company Values

Explaining the Spec’s philosophy comes easily for Rydman.

On the business side, he explains it like this: “The things I hear the most, besides the incredible selection we’ve always been known for, is that we have really good prices and we really work hard with our people. We train them so they are knowledgeable about our products and we insist that they treat people nicely.”

The Rydmans often take their buying staff with them on trips because when they see where products are made, they understand them better. In the process, they also develop friendships with people around the world. 

One of Rydman’s favorite places is Ukraine, where Spec’s purchases one of the chain’s most popular items, the Shevkoff vodka. Rydman is an unabashed fan of the product. On a trip to Ukraine, he said, he learned not to keep the best vodkas in the freezer because it does not allow the product to fully open up its flavor. It’s better to keep it in the refrigerator, he said. 

On a more personal side, Rydman explained the Spec’s philosophy centers around sourcing better-value products like those produced by family-owned wineries and distilleries. He is proud of the charity work Spec’s does across the state, which focuses primarily on education, the arts and veterans. He said the company refuses to price gouge and cares for its employees. 

“We are responsible for an awful lot of families,” Rydman said. “A lot of our people love to stay with us. Many have worked for Spec’s for 15-20 years or more. Our employees are family to us.”

Inside Spec’s, customers find a wide assortment of wines, liquor and even cigars from around the world, as well as snacks, mixers, Spec’s apparel and gift items. They feel what the company strives to do: “Keep everyone in good spirits.”