Celebrating 46 Years
Wine IS OUR Business
(952) 473-5469
Fall Hours
Monday - Thursday: 9am-8pm
Friday & Saturday: 9am-10pm
Sunday: 11am-6pm
About Us
Family Owned Since 1977
we continuously strive for excellence in both our products and service.
Our Story
Tim was born and raised in Hopkins, Minnesota. He was a great high school athlete, captain of both the wrestling and football teams at Hopkins Eisenhower. After graduation he played amateur football and softball, helped coach the wrestling team at Harley Grade School, and went to work for Northwestern National Bank in Hopkins. Sadly, on Sept 8th, 1974, Tim was in a terrible accident that left him with a broken neck followed by many months of recovery. This lead him to become a quadrapalegic, but if you knew Tim, then you knew that it would not slow him down. "I was kind of gun-shy about going out into the world again...The main thing that turned it around for me was my friends. They wouldn't feel sorry for me, so I couldn't feel sorry for myself...I could make plans and get back into the world or I could sit around depressed until I die. It was up to me" - Tim Bevins. Tonka Bottle Shop first opened its doors in 1974 by a man named Arnold Palmer (A local Minnetonka man, not the famous golfer). In 1977, the business was taken over by Tim Bevins (age 23).
Bevins handled advising customers, product buying, all business decisions, and created success for himself. The community rallied around him and wanted him to succeed. He specialized in high end liquor and wines. To him, the liquor industry was exciting due to the challenging fast paced nature of new products, trends, and ever changing environments that required one to stay alert and up to date with the world to ensure success. Tim put into place high standards to ensure the demands of the customers were consistantly and correctly meet by having product growth, expansion, and reassment as on going process in his store.
Over the next several decades, Tonka Bottle Shop boomed and created a legacy in the community that has now become a well known landmark and, depending on who you ask, even a historical site for the city of Minnetonka. As the years continued to come and go, so did the health of the beloved Tonka Bottle Shop owner. Tim bevins (age 64) passed away on January 5th, 2019 from complications from surgery. He lived a long and prosperous life, leaving behind his widow Terri Lynn Bevins, to run the store to this day.
Below are more pdf links to newspaper articles about Tim Bevins and Tonka Bottle Shop's History